Denmark breaks online casino revenue record as gambling grows in 2022

Spillemyndigheden, the Danish gambling authority, said total gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the year to 31 December 2022 came to DKK6.70bn ($991.4m/€910.1m/£799.8m), which was up 7.5% on the DKK6.23bn recorded in the previous year.

Online casino was the largest segment, comprising DKK2.88bn, which was up 2.1% on the 2021 figure. The segment was worth DKK272.3m in December, which was the largest amount since records began in 2012, and up 3.4% on December 2021.

The second largest segment, sports betting, was down 3.6% to DKK2.32bn despite the Fifa World Cup taking place during the year. December’s GGR figure of DKK135.5bn was the lowest return since October 2021 and down 35.0% on December 2021.

Slot machines generated DKK1.15bn in 2022, which was up considerably on the Covid-impacted 2021. Some DKK99.2m was taken in December 2022, up 44.5% on the same month in 2021.

Land-based casino also saw big gains in 2022, with DKK349.2m up 59.3% on 2021. The December figure of DKK34.2m was more than double the DKK14.7m reported in the same month in 2021.

“If you compare gaming consumption in December 2022 with the same period in 2021, the figures show large percentage changes from 2021 to 2022,” read a statement from Spillemyndigheden. “This is due, among other things, to the fact that physical casinos and gaming halls were closed in December 2021 due to Covid-19.”

Last month, Spillemyndigheden launched a revamped version of the country’s Register of Voluntarily Excluded Players (Rofus).