Spillemyndigheden has opened the application window for new land-based bingo licences.

Denmark.- The Danish gambling regulator Spillemyndigheden has opened the application process for new land-based bingo licences. The move comes after the government issued an executive order to liberalise the operation of land-based bingo and charity lotteries earlier in the year.

Applicants who supply the required information should be able to launch from January 1. If more information is needed, the regulator has the ability to issue special conditional permits pending the submission of the data required.

Licences will last for five years. Applications must be completed by all members of each applicant’s executive board and all stakeholders in a partnership plus a local representative if the business is based outside of the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA). Operators will also need to provide criminal record checks and debt declarations – they must have no debt to the public sector.

Spillemyndigheden will be able to order a resignation if a member of the business is convicted of a criminal offence deemed to have a risk of imminent abuse related to gambling.

Meanwhile, licence applications will cost DKK20,000 (€2,680) and DKK10,000 for renewal. Once a licence is granted, operators will also need to pay an annual licence fee based on gross gaming income. This will range from DKK15,000 for operators with revenue up to DKK1m to DKK240,000 for those with revenue of over DKK20m.

Spillemyndigheden said it will hold a meeting on December 5 to provide guidance on the process and the rules for land-based bingo.

Meanwhile, the regulator has reported that gambling revenue in Denmark totalled DKK533m (€74m) in September. That’s a drop of 2.8 per cent year-on-year and 3.2 per cent sequentially after a rise in GGR in August. Online gaming was again the largest source of revenue, generating DKK288m, a rise of 12.1 per cent year-on-year but down from DKK299m in August.