Online Gambling in Denmark
While their northern Scandinavian neighbours are in the processing of trying to implement prohibitions on foreign online gambling operators, Denmark is soon to open its market up after a long instituted protectionist policy. In 2007 Denmark received a reasoned opinion from the European Commission (“EC”) finding that its ban on online gambling (to the exception of the local monopoly operator Dansk Spil) was in breach of EU free trade provisions. Denmark was urged to change its laws or face legal proceedings before the European Court of Justice.
In April 2009, the Danish government announced plans to open its market to online gambling operators based in other EU countries. While lottery and scratch ticket games will remain the exclusive domain of Dansk Spil, online casino and poker games will be legalized and a new licensing regime introduced.
At the time of writing the new laws were still being drafted in consultation with operators and industry groups like the European Gambling & Betting Association. EC stamp of approval will likely be sought prior to the draft becoming law, but judging by how well it is being received by operators, including Ladbrokes and Unibet, this would seem somewhat of a fait accompli.
What do these changes mean to Danish players looking for a live dealer casino? Not a lot really. Even under the previous regime most online casinos, including those with live dealers, accepted Danish players and had services tailored to the Dansk playing market and this won’t change. What will change is the extent of mainstream advertising of online gambling brands throughout Denmark making the industry more visible than it is currently.
[Update September 2011]
In June 2010 the government of Denmark passed legislation allowing for the licensing of foreign online casino operators but delayed implementation of the laws until after review and approval by the EC. On 20 September 2011 those laws were announced by the EC to be in line with EU provisions and they are now in operation.
The Regulation of Gaming Act allows the Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden) to award licenses to online casinos so that they may offer roulette, baccarat, punto banco and blackjack as well as advertise their product throughout Denmark from 1 January 2012. The Gaming Duties Act sets the tax payable by licensed operators at 20% of gross gaming revenue.
One of the first net casinos to be awarded an Danish online gambling license was Party Casino.
[Update February 2014]
Danish national lottery and gaming provider Danske Licens Spil signed a deal with Evolution Gambling for the provision of live dealer games. Under the deal, Danske customers will have access to Evolution’s live dealer games including tables within a dedicated area created especially for Danske and serviced by a team of dealers, some of whom will be native-speaking Danes.
[Update September 2015]
888 Casino launched its Danish licensed, “.dk” casino site complete with live dealer games.
Best live casino for Danish players
All of the below live dealer casinos offer Euro or Danish Krone (DKK) banking options as well as Dansk language website and support capabilities.
 Casinos |  Player access |  Banking | Toll free support | Local language | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Read review | Visit | Locally licensed. No restrictions on sign -ups from Denmark | No deposit restrictions. Maintain account in EURO or Danish Krone (DKK) | No | Full Dansk language website and support capability | European based dealer room with Euro centric games including Dansk dealer tables |
Read review | Visit | Fully licensed by Spillemyndigheden to accept Danish players | No deposit restrictions. Maintain account in EURO or Danish Krone (DKK) | Yes | Full Dansk language website and support capability and Dansk dealers | European dealer studio with Euro centric games including Dansk dealer tables |
Read review | Visit | Fully licensed by Spillemyndigheden to accept Danish players | No deposit restrictions. Maintain account in EURO or Danish Krone (DKK) | Yes | Full Dansk language website and support capability | European based dealer room with Euro centric games. |
Read review | Visit | No restrictions on sign -ups from Denmark | No deposit restrictions. Maintain account in EURO or Danish Krone (DKK) | No | No | European based dealer room with Euro centric games. |