A Quarter Of Danish Players Using Black Market Poker Sites
June 3, 2015 5:05 pmA recent report by the Danish Gambling Authority Spillemyndigheden shows that the country’s licensed gambling market is dong very nicely indeed, with total online and land-based revenues up 2% to $1.16 billion in 2014, from the $1.13 billion generated the previous year. Unfortunately for Denmark its poker “black market” has continued to thrive, too, with an estimated 27% of online poker players turning to unlicensed sites for their action.
The startling news was revealed after Spillemyndigheden surveyed 4,131 people and found 8% of of them played internet poker, 27% of which patronized unregulated poker rooms. Naturally, this represents a huge outflow of revenues from the country which may otherwise have been taxed and eventually flowed into state coffers. However, rather than react angrily to the situation, Morten Ronde, the Chief Executive of the Danish Online Gambling Association, seems to have embraced the old adage “For every problem there is an opportunity”, and is currently seeking ways in which to reduce the rather concerning statistic.
Morten Ronde, for instance, has suggested better educating the public as to which sites are actually licensed by the country, as a previous survey suggests many online players are unaware if the various sites are “grey market” or not. He also said Denmark should consider expanding its online gambling market to include other popular gambling games such as instant lotterys and bingo.
Finally, Ronde has called upon licensed operators to improve their software in order to provide a better gaming experience for its customers. This is an issue which may recently have become more precipitous for the country’s licensed iGaming companies as this month Full Tilt was granted a license by the Danish authorities. Full Tilt, after all, is considered to have amongst the best poker software and graphics of any site, with players now also able to take advantage of its casino platform. As Full Tilt Managing Director, Dominic Mansour, said after receiving a Danish iGaming license:
“We are excited that Danish players are now able to play both casino and poker games on Full Tilt. Danish players are able to create their stories on Full Tilt and compete against players from around the world.”