Sports betting has demonstrated a return to growth in Denmark, according to the latest numbers from the Danish Gambling Authority.
After the vertical saw an almost 50% drop in year-over-year gross gaming revenue in October, betting returned to growth in November, posting revenue of DKK 265m (£31m), up 14% compared to the same period in 2024.
Coupled with growth in online casino revenue of 27% YoY to DKK 375m (£43.9m), total revenues for the market reached DKK 767m (£89.7m) in November, up from DKK 655m (£76.6m) in November 2024.
Land-based continues to lag behind
Amid significant growth in remote gaming, Denmark’s retail industry continues to exhibit the same challenges observed in a myriad of markets across Europe.
Land-based casinos in the country returned revenue of DKK 30m in November, down 3.42 YoY. Meanwhile, gaming machine revenue remained flat at DKK 95m.
Fears surrounding the land-based sector are also demonstrated by illuminating customer data, which revealed that 73.29% of betting revenue was generated through players using mobiles, up from 65.94% in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the proportion of land-based spending fell from 8.7% to 7.2%.
A crucial year ahead
Looking ahead, Denmark remains in the midst of regulatory change, as authorities consider tightening the country’s advertising framework for sports betting operators.
Amid calls that Denmark’s marketing culture has “become too aggressive”, proposals have been put forward for a whistle-to-whistle ban on adverts during live sports broadcasts as part of a wider five-point agenda to tone down saturation, strengthen prevention and treatment of gambling harms, and shield younger audiences.
According to Denmark’s media watchdog, 767,000 gambling adverts aired across Danish TV and radio in 2024 — an average of 2,100 a day, five times higher than in 2012 when the market was liberalised.
While these numbers have brought concern to authorities, the continuing growth of the Danish market demonstrates the potential of the country to provide a strong economic sector for the country. Therefore, any new regulation must provide stronger safeguarding without undermining the progress of the industry.
