Illegal Gambling Enforcement in Denmark
Criminal penalties, court-ordered DNS blocking and a payment-facilitation ban, with 870 sites blocked since 2012
Last verified: 2026-10-05
Offering gambling in Denmark without a Danish licence is a criminal offence; the Danish Gambling Authority has Danish internet providers block illegal sites by DNS after a court order, with 870 sites blocked since 2012.
Illegal gambling enforcement in Denmark
Overview
Offering gambling in Denmark, or targeting the Danish market, without a licence from the Danish Gambling Authority is illegal. Under the Gambling Act it is punishable by a fine or up to six months’ imprisonment (up to a year in aggravated cases), and payment facilitation to an illegal operator is prohibited. The Authority treats a game as targeting Denmark where factors such as Danish language, Danish currency, the Danish flag, Danish-targeted marketing, Danish-only payment cards, Danish customer service or a Danish-oriented sports offer are present.
The main practical tool is DNS blocking by court order. The Authority first asks the operator to stop; if the operator does not, the Authority approaches Danish telecommunications providers, who ask the court to confirm that the sites are illegal. On 8 July 2026 the Frederiksberg court ordered 98 sites blocked, bringing the total to 870 since 2012, after a record 178-site ruling in June 2025. Reform bill L 127 would have widened the tools, including a ban on intermediating unlicensed games and on turnover-based affiliate payments, but it lapsed with the March 2026 general election and is not law.
The Authority’s own account of how blocking works and what makes a game directed at Denmark. [1]
Criminal penalties and the payment-facilitation ban in the Gambling Act. [2]
Key facts
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Verified
A game is treated as directed at Denmark, and so needs a Danish licence, where among other things it uses the Danish language, Danish currency or the Danish flag, markets itself to Denmark, uses payment cards that only work in Denmark, offers Danish customer service, connects via Steam, or builds its offer so that it targets Danish players, for example by offering bets on lower-ranked national sports events.
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Website blocking works in steps: the Authority first asks the operator to stop; if it does not, the Authority contacts the telecommunications providers, who ask the court to confirm that the sites are illegal; and the block is then implemented by DNS, so a player who opens a blocked site sees a notice that it is illegal and blocked by the Authority.
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On 8 July 2026 the Frederiksberg court ruled for the Authority and ordered Danish internet providers to block 98 illegal gambling websites, bringing the total number of illegal gambling sites blocked since 2012 to 870.
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On 26 June 2025 the Frederiksberg court ordered 178 sites blocked, then the highest number in a single case since 2012 and bringing the total to 616; since 2023 the Authority brings blocking cases twice a year instead of once.
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Offering, arranging or supplying gambling without a licence is punishable by a fine or up to six months’ imprisonment (up to one year in aggravated or particularly extensive cases), advertising operators without a Danish licence is punishable by a fine, and payment facilitation to and from an illegal operator and information transmission to an illegal gambling system are prohibited.
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Under current law, intermediating participation in gambling is only illegal when it refers players to providers that should have a Danish licence because the game targets the Danish market; the tax ministry reported a rise in Danish-language intermediary sites that lead Danish players to unlicensed sites, bypassing ROFUS and age verification.
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Bill L 127 proposed to prohibit all marketing of gambling that has no Danish licence when directed at Denmark, to ban intermediating unlicensed games whether or not targeted at Denmark, to extend DNS blocking to intermediary sites, to ban turnover-based payments to marketing partners, to let the Authority inspect suspected pyramid schemes without a court order, and to base fines on the licensee’s turnover; the bill lapsed and none of this is law.
Danish Ministry of Taxation (retsinformation.dk), Danish Ministry of Taxation (retsinformation.dk)
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Unverified
The Danish Gambling Authority’s annual report on illegal gambling for 2025 reportedly records court orders to block 334 websites in 2025; trade press cites the report, which this pass did not open.
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Unverified
The prediction-market platform Polymarket was reported to be among the 98 websites blocked after the July 2026 ruling; the Authority’s article read in full does not name individual sites in its text, and this pass did not open its linked PDF list.
Sources
- Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden)Primary source — The Danish Gambling Authority blocks 98 illegal gambling sites (19 Aug 2026) — https://spillemyndigheden.dk/en-us/news-articles/the-danish-gambling-authority-blocks-98-illegal-gambling-sites
- Danish Ministry of Taxation (retsinformation.dk)Primary source — LBK nr 1182 af 22/09/2025: Bekendtgørelse af lov om spil (Gambling Act, consolidated) — https://www.retsinformation.dk/api/pdf/244581