Even with the significant increase in efficiency when it comes to tackling the black market, Denmark’s gambling authority is facing new illegal gambling channels on its radar.
Spillemyndigheden, the Danish Gambling Authority, has significantly expanded its enforcement actions against illegal gambling through new powers and cooperation agreements granted by the government.
Publishing its annual Illegal Gambling Report, Spillemyndigheden stated that the increase in enforcement reflects the Authority’s growing focus on combating illegal gambling, rather than necessarily indicating an expansion of the black market targeting Danish consumers.
During 2025, the Authority investigated 695 websites, of which 334 were blocked by court order — a 70% increase on the 197 websites blocked in 2024.
Furthermore, online enforcement efforts were strengthened by a new cooperation agreement with Teleindustrien, the Danish telecommunications industry association.
Through the partnership, Spillemyndigheden estimated that its actions reduced Danish traffic to blocked illegal gambling websites by 34%.
Improved protection of online consumers also saw 36 unlicensed operators voluntarily withdraw from the Danish market following regulatory intervention.
The partnership has further broadened Spillemyndigheden’s enforcement remit beyond traditional website blocking, enabling faster action against illegal apps, digital content and mirror websites.
Tackling new exposures
Moving forward, Spillemyndigheden is working with Danish telecoms providers to enable the rapid blocking of mirror domains, whereby unlicensed operators simply switch customers to new domains after an existing website has been blocked (for example, casino123.com becoming casino124.com).
Another growing area of concern is the promotion of illegal gambling through encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram, Discord and other closed communication networks.
Spillemyndigheden has sought to raise awareness of illegal gambling promotions and groups on these platforms through educational campaigns, but acknowledges that enforcement and content removal remain challenging.
A further emerging threat is the “hijacking of legitimate websites”, whereby illegal operators or illicit affiliates compromise established websites by creating gambling-related subdomains that redirect users to offshore casinos.
Enforcement is particularly difficult because Danish law currently allows the blocking of entire domains, but not individual subdomains.
Looking ahead, Spillemyndigheden believes that stronger partnerships with major technology platforms will be central to future enforcement.
The authority highlighted its cooperation with Meta, Google, Apple and Twitch, allowing it to report illegal gambling content, apps and advertising directly for removal.
In particular, collaboration with Meta has been strengthened through a process enabling Danish licence holders to report the misuse of their brands in illegal gambling promotions on Facebook and Instagram, ensuring “faster—and therefore more efficient—handling of these matters.”
The authority added that it is “working to establish more partnerships with other media outlets” where illegal gambling content is identified, signalling that closer cooperation with Big Tech will underpin future enforcement efforts.
Package powers
Spillemyndigheden also welcomed the implementation of ‘Gambling Package 1’ – known as Spilpakke 1 ,Denmark’s largest gambling reform since the market was liberalised in 2012 – with new laws implemented as of November 2025.
Beyond expanding the authority’s powers to tackle illegal gambling promotions and referrals, the package provides funding to develop an automated system to monitor digital advertising.
This reinforces Spillemyndigheden’s ambition to move towards technology-driven supervision alongside a clearer framework for enforcement, penalties and sanctions.
As part of Gambling Package 1, funding has been allocated to develop an automated monitoring system capable of identifying illegal gambling advertising across digital platforms.
No accountability on the black market
Despite the intensified enforcement campaign, Spillemyndigheden stopped short of estimating the scale of Denmark’s black market.
Instead, the 2025 report remains focused on enforcement actions and initiatives, noting that the increase in blocked websites “does not necessarily indicate an expansion of the illegal gambling market in Denmark” but rather reflects the regulator’s growing focus on enforcement.
The Authority confirmed that a dedicated review of Denmark’s channelisation % rate—the proportion of online gambling taking place with licensed operators will be published separately later in 2026, following its review of the market.
