Spilpakke 1 and Bill L 127 (2025-2026): A Gambling Reform That Lapsed
A whistle-to-whistle advertising ban, a ban on affiliate revenue share and a duty of care were introduced in February 2026, then lapsed with the election
Last verified: 2026-10-05
Denmark’s Spilpakke 1 (24 October 2025) became bill L 127 on 25 February 2026, proposing a whistle-to-whistle gambling advertising ban and other measures; the bill lapsed with the March 2026 general election and none of it is in force.
Spilpakke 1 and bill L 127: the reform that lapsed
What happened
On 24 October 2025 the government and a broad majority of parties agreed “Spilpakke 1”, a package to curb gambling addiction and protect children and young people. The tax minister introduced bill L 127 to implement it on 25 February 2026, after a public consultation and a notification to the European Commission. The bill proposed a rewritten §36 banning gambling advertising in public transport, within 200 metres of schools and youth education institutions, and from ten minutes before to ten minutes after live sport on TV and streaming (including live odds), banning authority figures and under-25s in advertising, and prohibiting turnover-based payments to marketing partners. It also proposed a statutory duty of attention and action on responsible gambling, wider game definitions for online casino, retailer licences for land-based gambling, and new powers against intermediary sites and unlicensed marketing.
The bill was never adopted. It is recorded as lapsed on retsinformation.dk, and a professional-body briefing lists it among the tax-ministry bills that fell with the March 2026 general election. None of its measures is therefore in force; the marketing rules in §36 of the Gambling Act as consolidated in September 2025 are the rules this record has checked. A Social Democrat spokesperson was reported to have said the party would re-introduce the proposal if it formed a government again, and this pass found no re-introduced bill. That is a negative search result rather than a confirmed absence, and it is the single most time-sensitive item in this pack: the Folketing’s new session begins in October.
Bill L 127 as introduced on 25 February 2026. [1]
The Folketing bill record showing the status “Bortfaldet” (lapsed). [2]
Key facts
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Verified
On 24 October 2025 the government (Social Democrats, Venstre and the Moderates) and the Denmark Democrats, the Socialist People’s Party, the Conservatives, the Red-Green Alliance, the Danish People’s Party, the Social Liberals and the Alternative agreed “Spilpakke 1: Et mere ansvarligt spilmarked”, aimed at curbing gambling addiction and protecting children and young people.
Danish Ministry of Taxation (retsinformation.dk), Danish Ministry of Taxation (svmn.dk)
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Verified
The tax minister introduced bill L 127 on 25 February 2026 after a consultation from 5 December 2025 to 5 January 2026, and the bill was notified to the European Commission on 13 January 2026 under Directive (EU) 2015/1535.
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Verified
The bill proposed a rewritten §36 under which gambling marketing could not appear in or in connection with public transport, within 200 metres of schools and youth education institutions, or from ten minutes before until ten minutes after a live sports transmission (including live odds where the event is held), could not use authorities or people under 25, and could not be aimed at under-18s, with turnover-based settlement of third-party marketers prohibited.
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The bill’s remarks state that the live-sport advertising ban would cover TV and streaming, including ad breaks and live odds on screen, but would not cover advertising physically at the venue such as stadium banners and shirt sponsorships, although live odds shown at the venue during an event would be covered.
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The bill proposed a statutory duty of attention and action on responsible gambling for all licensees except charity-lottery licensees (§36a), requiring monitoring of players’ behaviour, prompt action on signs of problem gambling, written internal procedures and staff training.
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The bill proposed adding dice games and wheels of fortune to the online-casino and land-based-casino game definitions and requiring approval for each combination game before it is offered; the ministry estimated about DKK 10 million a year of extra revenue from 2027 from moving spending from the unregulated market, against a loss of about DKK 25 million a year from 2027 from the advertising ban, which it expected to move some spending to unregulated, untaxed offerings.
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Verified
The bill proposed to modernise land-based gambling by replacing manager approvals with retailer licences, approving each gambling venue, making slot-machine licences valid nationwide, redefining the gambling hall, and cutting the supplement to the refund interest on companies’ overpaid tax from 0.75 to 0.2 percentage points as a financing measure.
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Verified
The bill proposed entry into force on 1 July 2026, with a long list of provisions, including the retailer, venue and game-definition changes, taking effect on 1 January 2027, and the tax ministry’s release said the initiatives would take effect on 1 July 2026 and 1 January 2027 and that initial steps toward a “Spilpakke 2” had been taken.
Danish Ministry of Taxation (retsinformation.dk), Danish Ministry of Taxation (svmn.dk)
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Verified
Bill L 127 is recorded on retsinformation.dk as lapsed (bortfaldet), and a professional-body briefing lists it among the tax-ministry bills that lapsed with the March 2026 general election because they were not finally adopted, so none of its measures is in force.
Danish Ministry of Taxation (retsinformation.dk), FSR – Danish Auditors, Dansk Markedsføring
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Unverified
A Social Democrat political spokesperson was reported as saying the party would re-introduce the proposal if it formed a government again; this pass did not find a re-introduced bill, a negative search result rather than a confirmed absence.
Dansk Markedsføring, Danish Ministry of Taxation (retsinformation.dk)
Sources
- Danish Ministry of Taxation (retsinformation.dk)Primary source — 2025/1 LSF 127: Forslag til lov om ændring af lov om spil, selskabsskatteloven og lov om afgifter af spil (bill as introduced 25 Feb 2026) — https://www.retsinformation.dk/api/pdf/255289
- Danish Ministry of Taxation (retsinformation.dk)Primary source — 2025/1 LF 127: bill case record (status “Bortfaldet”, lapsed) — https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/ft/202512L00127