DOGA publishes black market survey II

The Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA) has published the second instalment of a study it commissioned from MyResearch.

The organisation released the results of the first part of the study in March 2015 focusing on the size of the black market in Denmark with an emphasis on online sports betting (see previous  report).

The second part of the survey, finalised this month, concentrates on estimating the Danish volume and value share for betting operators without a Danish license.

MyResearch conducted the study between 22 March and 8 May, 2015, interviewing 4131 (total population in this group is 3.5 million) Danish residents between the ages of 18-65.  Of the 4,131 interviews a total of 1005 people played sports betting, poker or casino.

Key information that emerged from the study includes:

21 percent of the Danish population between 18-65 places bets on online sports betting, 8 percent poker and 8 percent online casino
6 percent of the online gambling players place bets with unlicensed betting operators, 27 percent with online poker operators, 23 percent with unlicensed online casino operators
14 percent of the online gambling players have placed bets/played casino or poker with unlicensed operators.
On average 13 percent of the total monthly spend is placed with online operators without a Danish license. 10 percent is spent on betting, 17 percent on online casino and 19 percent on online poker.
Women, younger people and people with a high monthly spend play more frequently with operators without Danish licensing.
The average monthly spend among persons who bet with unlicensed operators is 5 times higher.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Morten Ronde, Chief Executive of DOGA, said:

“The survey affirms the conclusion of the previous black market survey, namely that the black market in Denmark is indeed a reality. While there are few Danes who place bets on unlicensed sites these players spend a significant amount of money when they bet.

“This new survey was the last piece of the puzzle, showing that the black market is not only present in sports betting but also in online casino.

“It cannot be stressed enough that this needs to be taken seriously. We need to consider why so many of the Danish players are still using black market operators and what could be done to encourage the players to stake money on licensed operators only.”

DOGA believes the Danish Government should consider allowing licensed operators to offer a larger product scope such as online bingo and instant lottery games, to avoid Danish players turning to black markets to play these games.

Digital user experiences also need to be improved while the Danish Gambling Authority needs to do more to inform the general public who licensed operators are, DOGA opined.

According to the initial instalment of the survey, results showed that half the players surveyed were unaware that the black market operators they played with were not licensed.

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