Danish gambling industry creates self-regulating advertising board
Online and land-based operators come together to form independent advertising body
Danish gambling operators have launched a self-regulating Gambling Advertising Board to police consumer complaints about gambling ads by operators.
A new website has been established, gamesreklamenævnet.dk, allowing individuals to register complaints about adverts. At present the site is up and running and complaints will be dealt with on an arising basis.
The initiative has been spearheaded by several land-based and online operators including Danske Spil and members of the Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA).
The Gambling Advertising Board will be located in the offices of Danish restaurant, hotel and tourism industry trade association HORESTA, which will also provide the secretariat of the newly established body.
It is understood that the board will be made up of operators, consumer representatives and industry experts, with the aim being to recruit a Danish judge as the first chairman.
The aim of the organisation is to move the industry in a more responsible direction, creating a better marketing culture, increased trust in operators and shared guidelines for land-based and online firms.
Morten Rønde, CEO of DOGA, hailed the creation of the board as an important initiative in creating a healthy culture around gambling.
“We are very conscious of our responsibilities, and the industry’s initiatives on self-regulation indicate that we are constantly looking for opportunities to move in a more responsible direction,” Rønde said.
In March 2019, DOGA launched its first code of conduct for online gambling operators, including 21 individual rules on areas including advertising, sponsorships, marketing and responsible gambling.
It was developed following the Danish government’s “agreement on new initiatives to counter gambling addiction” first signed in June 2018, which asked the industry to work with the regulator on creating a code.
DOGA members include bet365, GVC, Flutter Entertainment, Kindred Group, LeoVegas, Danske Spil, The Stars Group and Mr Green.