The liberalisation of Denmark’s gambling market: Small giant in the North – paving the way for Scandinavia?

Article by Martin Oelbermann

New report on Denmark’s gambling market presents in-depth analyses and includes a unique overview of the current draft law.

London/Munich/Copenhagen, November 4, 2009 – Currently, the French liberalisation plans are probably getting most of the industry’s attention. But in the background, at times almost neglected, several other countries, such as Denmark, are setting about liberalising large parts of their gambling market. Therefore, the consulting firm MECN and the law firm Horten have joined forces to compile a new report that offers an unprecedented in-depth analysis of Denmark’s gambling market.

Denmark’s gambling market may not be as big as that of France or Italy, but the planned liberalisation is nevertheless highly relevant for the global market:

  • Denmark is one of the first to liberalise its gambling market – The Danish government is one of the first in both the EU and Scandinavia to respond to the growing market share of Internet gambling operators and to the increasing pressure of the European Commission by liberalising its gambling market.
  • Liberalisation goes beyond the online gambling sector – Whereas the French draft law limits liberalisation to selected online games, the Danish government goes further and also plans to open up the retail/land-based betting market. We believe that an expansion to the retail sector is a more sustainable solution and therefore more likely to be taken up and adapted in other European countries.
  • Denmark: paving the way for Scandinavia? – It is still an open question how developments in Denmark will influence the current discussions in the other, more protectionist, Scandinavian states. We believe that other Scandinavian states will closely watch the implementation of Denmark’s liberalisation plans, its challenges, private operators’ actions, developments of tax/levies, and, last but not least, the impact on problematic gambling.
  • A Danish license: a must for private operators active in Scandinavia – MECN believes that private operators with a focus on Scandinavia should definitely participate in Denmark’s liberalised market. They could not only gather valuable experience but also present themselves as trustworthy partners for gambling operations throughout all of Scandinavia.

MECN’s new report about the Danish gambling market

The report includes detailed analyses of all relevant topics:

  • Unique overview of the liberalisation process and content of the draft law – Although the current draft law liberalising the gambling market is still confidential, MECN and the Danish law firm Horten are able to offer unparalleled insights into key details of the draft law.
  • Analyses of all sectors – The report offers an analysis of all sectors of the gambling market: interactive/online gambling, betting, lottery, gambling machines, and casinos.
  • Current market figures – The report includes comprehensive market data up to 2008, such as market size and development of sales/turnover as well as gross revenues, registered users, …
  • Legal/regulatory and tax information – The report provides detailed explanations of the current legislation and the taxes imposed – it was produced in cooperation with the leading legal experts of the Danish law firm Horten.
  • In total, the report has 48 pages and 24 graphics/exhibits.
  • For more information visit www.denmark-gambling.mecn.net