Danish regulators are now taking applications for licenses to run bingo halls on land.
The Danish government agency in charge of gaming, Spillemyndigheden, started the process of giving licenses to offer land-based bingo in the country yesterday (November 21).
Denmark bingo halls on land
If a company wants to open a land-based bingo hall in Denmark after January 1, 2025, they will be guaranteed permission as long as they fill out their applications properly and include all the necessary information.
If Spillemyndigheden needs more information, the regulator can give out special permits with certain terms while the rest of the information is sent in.
Spillemyndigheden will hold a meeting on December 5 to talk about the new rules for land-based bingo in Denmark. This will help businesses with their applications.
What it takes to run a land-based bingo hall
The right to run a land-based bingo hall for up to five years at a time. There are, however, some rules that managers must follow.
The company that wants to apply must send in a form that has been filled out by all of its executive board members, board members, partners, and an agent chosen in Denmark if the company is not based in an EU or EEA country.
Spillemyndigheden must also see companies' criminal records and debt statements in order to decide if there isn't an immediate risk of abuse. If a business wants to give licensed land-based bingo, it can't owe any money to the government.
As long as a company has a licence, Spillemyndigheden can fire a worker if they are found guilty of a crime that makes it likely that they will abuse their position in the gaming industry.
The fee for each entry is DKK20,000, which is about £2,231, €2,682, or $2,789. The fee to renew is DKK10,000.
After getting a pass, an operator has to pay a fee every year. This will depend on how much money they make from gambling in a year. Here are the fee amounts:
Gross gambling income in 2024: DKK15,000 to DKK1 million, DKK30,000 to DKK1 million to DKK2.5 million, DKK60,000 to DKK2.5 million to DKK5 million, and DKK120,000 to DKK5 million. Five million to ten million Danish kroner (DKK180,000) Ten million to twenty million Danish kroner (DKK240,000) 20 million Danish kroner
Denmark's gaming income is going down.
In November, Spillemyndigheden released figures showing that Denmark's gambling income was 2.8% lower than the same month last year, coming in at DKK533 million. Also, it was 3.2% less than what it was in August.
Even though Denmark's main source of income, online casinos, brought in DKK288 million in September, the total drop was still there. This is 12.1% more than last year.
When compared to the same month in 2023, sports betting lost 21.7% of its value, or DKK144 million.
