Danish trade body seeks ad reduction agreement
Danish Online Gambling Association DOGA targets agreement with TV companies
The Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA) is seeking an agreement with Danish broadcasters to reduce the number of gambling adverts being aired on Danish TV.
Morten Ronde, the head of DOGA, said there were two parties in marketing process and that the agreement of both TV stations and advertisers was needed before any curbs could be made.
Ronde told Danish news outlet DR: “If we have to limit the advertisements, we must also have the TV stations included on it. We will try to get one agreement capable of reducing the number of advertisements.”
Current DOGA members include bet365, Betfair, Betsson, Nordic Bet, Pokerstars and Unibet.
The plans come after Danske Spil CEO Niels Erik Folmann called on the industry to follow the lead of the UK and introduce a “whistle-to-whistle” ban on gambling adverts being aired during live sport broadcasts to “limit the temptation among young vulnerable gamblers”.
Denmark has three main broadcasters: The Danish Broadcasting Corporation, TV2 and the Modern Times Group. The three did not comment on the agreement when approached.
As part of new responsible gambling initiatives first agreed by the Danish Ministry of Taxation in June 2018, seven political parties signed an agreement obliging Danish gambling firms to work with the regulator, Spillemyndigheden to develop a code of conduct for gambling marketing.
No timescale was given by the parties as to when this code of conduct should be published but Danish Liberal party MP Louise Schack Elholm said politicians would draft codes of conduct if the industry did not step up.