Denmark Asked By EC to Fix Online Gambling Law

Denmark have been given one month to go back to the drawing board and amend new online gambling laws so that they are EU compliant.

Back in April of this year Denmark announced its intentions to open its market to foreign online gambling operators under a new regulatory regime. Draft laws were submitted to the European Commission (EC) for review shortly afterward, and the outcome of this review has just been communicated back to Danish authorities in the form of a detailed opinion on the proposed laws.

The EC has advised that there are still a number of areas requiring attention before the draft laws are compliant with EU law. One of the key areas of EC concern, is that fact that the proposed law and associated licensing requirements do not currently take adequate account of regulatory and probity controls already satisfied by operators in other EU Member states.

Another area of concern is the continued support the draft laws give to the Danish monopoly operators of pool betting for horse racing.

'We support the Danish government's intention to move towards a regulated opening of the online gaming market but this has to be done in compliance with European Commission law requirements,' said a spokesperson for European online gaming lobby group the EGBA.

The Danish government have until November 9 to respond to the the EC opinion or risk having the matter referred to the European Court of Justice.