Today the European Commission has made a decision in the state aid case about the Danish Gaming Duties Act. The Commission has approved that there are different duty rates for online and land-based casino gaming and the expected liberalisation of the Danish gambling market can enter into force at the turn of the year.

After an in-depth investigation, the  European Commission has concluded that a law liberalising  gambling in Denmark and at the same time creating  lower taxes for online casinos  than for land-based ones is in line with EU state aid rules. This is because the positive effects of the liberalisation of the sector outweigh potential distortions of competition.

The state aid case was formally initiated in December 2010 on the grounds of two complaints from the Danish gaming machine business and a Danish land-based casino operator. This caused that the package of acts on the partial liberalisation of the Danish gambling market, which had been passed by the Danish parliament, had to be postponed until the Commission made a decision.

The approval from the European Commission means that the entire package of acts can be put into force with effect from January 1, 2012.

The Commissions press release can be seen here.

Operators who want to provide gaming in Denmark from January 1, 2012 must submit an application for betting and online casino licences to Spillemyndigheden (the Danish Gambling Authority) no later than October 17, 2011 at 12.00 a.m. If the application is received after the stated date and time you should expect a later starting date.

You can find the application forms on the webpage of Spillemyndigheden, www.spillemyndigheden.dk

Further information:
Questions concerning the case: Head of Division Lars Henry Nielsen, tel. + 45 72 37 53 95
Questions concerning the application process, etc.: Spillemyndigheden, tel. + 45 72 38 79 13
Other questions from journalists: SKAT's press department, tel. + 45 72 37 09 00
Other questions from private individuals and businesses: SKAT's main number, tel. + 45 72 22 18 18