In Denmark, online gambling has grown so rapidly that it now corners a larger share of the gambling market than brick-and-mortar casinos. The Danish Gambling Authority recently released the annual report regarding 2017 gambling market figures. In 2016, online gambling accounted for 47.4% of total gambling interactions, but in 2017, online gambling accounted for 51.5%. While this is only a growth of four percent, it's significant in that more people are gambling online than in casinos, which has interesting implications for the continued growth of online gambling and the decline of brick-and-mortar casinos.
Danish Gambling Online On the Rise
Denmark is a country full of active people, and the online gambling market has capitalized on this by creating mobile gambling apps that fit into an active lifestyle. It's easier to access an app on the go than to make an entire day out of visiting a brick-and-mortar casino. On mobile devices, online gambling was more frequent than through desktop gambling. Mobile device gambling accounted for 54.5% of the total online gambling transactions and revenue generated through online gambling, while at the end of 2016, the figure was only 46.7%.
The total overall gambling revenue in the country totaled about $964 million in 2017. Most total revenues were generated through lotteries, with online gambling casinos being the second largest industry, gambling machines following just behind, and brick-and-mortar casinos performing the most poorly by far. Brick-and-mortar casinos brought in about one fourth of the revenue of gambling machines.
The gross revenue garnered from lotteries throughout the country was 33.6% of the total overall gambling revenue. The total gross draw was about $498 million, which doesn't represent a significant growth or loss from year to year.
The 2017 revenues report illustrated that Danish people have a marked preference for slots over other games. Online slot machines accounted for 61.5% of the total overall gambling revenue. The next most common game was roulette, which comparatively accounted for 11.3%. This means that about six times more revenue was generated through slot machines than through roulette. Finally, blackjack accounted for 10.4% of revenue, other assorted games accounted for 9.5%, and poker accounted for the least amount of revenue with only 7.3% generated.
Lawmakers in Denmark have expressed concerns regarding the increasing popularity of online gambling. Both main parties in the country have called for increased regulation of the bonuses in online casinos. This is due to the extreme online bonuses in Denmark, which lure new players into the gambling market. Some online operators have offered to match funds in up to $1,600, an unprecedented amount.
Jesper Petersen, part of the Social Democrats party, has spoken to media regarding the desire for bonuses to be more highly regulated with a $160 maximum cap. He has also discussed an initiative to make maximum cash outs and playthroughs better defined.
Meanwhile, the Socialist People's Party has called for online casino bonuses to be banned entirely. However, there is some public concern that banning online casino bonuses would increase the number of unlicensed operators from abroad trying to corner the Danish market.
- The Largest Canadian Casinos - June 1, 2019
- Lucky Players Who Hit UK Casino Online Jackpots - May 30, 2019
- The Most Common Online Casino Bonuses - April 26, 2019
