Dansk Tipstjeneste Responds To Competition
Published: Friday, April 01, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
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A Danish monopoly responds to gambling competition
The Danish State gambling monopoly Dansk Tipstjeneste seems to be feeling the pressure from large international betting groups like Ladbrokes, which are reported to have about 1.6 billion Danish kroner of the Danish gambling market.
So much so that the Danish state monopoly is now looking into the possibilities of offering casino games online - even though this type of gambling is being heavily debated in Denmark. So says Henrik Christian Madsen, the manager of Dansk Tipstjeneste in reports this week from Borsen Online. He is quoted as being ready to start offering new types of gambling games to fight off competition from foreign companies - and offering casino games online to the Danish gamblers might be a possibility.
Foreign giants such as Ladbrokes are fast eating away Dansk Tipstjeneste's marketshare. According to a new report foreign betting companies are now selling gambling to the Danes for about 1.5 to 1.6 billion Danish kroner - against about 1 billion in 2003. The 50 percent growth is about twice the growth of the State monopoly's own growth on the same types of games. The foreign bookmakers could market gambling to the Danes for about 2.4 billion Danish kroner this year if their growth rate continues.
"The board of Dansk Tipstjeneste has given us approval to look into the possibilities in the online casino sector - the board will decide in May if we can start offering casino games online," says Madsen.
Tipstjeneste are also planning on offering scratch card games online as well as "Live Betting" where the players can place wagers during sports games. Such measures are being considered to respond to the competition from foreign betting giants - especially from England.
The foreign bookmakers billion kroner revenue has been build up over a short five to six year period. Danish gaming has had decades to evolve - the first regulations on gambling was introduced back in the 1500's, and laws from the 18th century are still valid. A sports betting law was added in 1949 - but this law does not forbid gamblers from placing bets with private foreign companies.
Foreign bookmakers are not allowed to open up local betting shops in Denmark - however it's still an open question if foreign bookmakers are allowed to advertise in Denmark. This question is currently being debated in the courst. If the foreign bookmakers are permitted to advertise in Denmark, Dansk Tipstjeneste will probably have to start offering gambling to foreigners - however this will require a change in the companys current operating goals which is to sell gambling only to Danes.
The Danish population are gambling more and more - even if the bets placed abroad are deducted - the growth in Dansk Tipstjenestes revenue is 8 percent. - 9.9 billion Danish kroner revenue is expected this year. The total gambling market in Denmark is about 20 billion Danish kroner - the main vehicles to produce this revenue are slot machines. The total slots revenue in Denmark is about 10 billion kroner. Dansk Tipstjeneste is 80 percent owned by the Danish state - the remaining 20 percent is owned by two Danish national non-profit sports associations.
