Spillemyndigheden, the Danish gambling regulator, has revealed that channelisation in the jurisdiction reached a record high of 90 per cent in 2020.

The regulator’s Gaming Market in Figures 2020 report showed that the level of channelisation had increased just slightly compared to 2019, when it was 88 per cent.

However, in 2012 when the market was liberalised, channelisation in the jurisdiction was at just 69 per cent.

The report said the only European countries with a higher rate of channelisation are the UK, Italy, the Czech Republic and Spain.

Channelisation, or the channelling of players to operators within the regulated marketed, is a key issue, with some industry members and experts suggesting that harsher regulatory regimes in some countries risk pushing players to the black market.

Sweden and Germany, in particular, have come under fire in recent years for introducing deposit caps and exclusions on certain products, which could make the regulated market less able to compete with offshore operators.

Meanwhile, the Danish report revealed that gross gaming revenue across all verticals was down 6.5 per to DKK9.17bn (£1.05bn/US$1.47bn/€1.23bn) in 2020.

The biggest contributor to that income was the lotteries industry, which was responsible for DKK3.2bn, a 0.1 per cent fall on 2019. Online casino generated DKK2.45bn, up from DKK2.35bn the previous year, while sports betting was down 8.9 per cent to DKK2.29bn.

Slot machines were down 29.3 per cent to DKK986m, while land-based casinos revenue also fell 31.7 per cent to DKK239m.

Denmark had 771 licensed operators in 2020, as well as a further 360 non-profit lotteries which do not require a licence.

Online gaming made up 59 per cent of the gambling market in 2020, compared to 54 per cent in 2019. Of online spend, 64 per cent came from mobile devices, which was an increase from 60 per cent in 2019.

Danish online gambling customers are mainly men between the ages of 26-35, with this group making up 23 per cent of online players. Overall, men made up 76 per cent of online gaming accounts.

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