A court in Copenhagen has upheld Danish gambling authority Spillemyndigheden’s decision to fine an illegal bingo and banko operator DKK 15,000 (€2,014) and confiscate DKK 5 million (€671,517).
According to the regulator’s statement, the association, which has not been named, was found to have offered bingo and banko games for a number of years. Once notified of the unlicensed activity, the regulator notified the police.
Under Danish gambling laws, all lottery games including bingo and banko are carried out by the government-run monopoly Det Danske Klasselotteri. The only excpetion to this is if the lottery games are run for the benefit of a charity or good cause.
Spillemyndigheden’s investigation revealed that the associations primary purpose was to run bingo and banko games for profit. After reviewing the evidence, the court decided that the association had acted illegally and upheld the fine. The court also allowed the regulator to seize assets worth DK 5 million and ordered the association to pay legal costs of the case.
This brings the total fines for 2023 to more than €56.9 million.
According to industry fines tracker website GamblingIndustryFines.com, gambling industry fines in 2022 came to €251,712,034 / $269,532,490 – a significant increase of 443.9% compared to 2021’s total of €44,753,969 / $48,642,992.
Gambling industry journalist with a background in online poker and trading. Covering the regulated U.S Sports industry and the exciting world of online poker.