Before you choose · who the rule is aimed atUpdated 24.09.2026
Is it legal to play without a Danish licence? Who the rules are written for
The rule about permission is written for whoever offers the gambling, not for whoever plays it. That is the whole difference, and it explains the blocking orders, the missing Danish-language pages, and why your complaint ends up in another country.
The question asked most often about casinos without a Danish licence is also the one answered least precisely. Here is what the Danish Gambling Authority itself writes, and what it means in practice.
The rule is written for the operator
The Gambling Authority puts it like this: it is illegal to offer gambling in Denmark, or to target the Danish market, without a licence. The addressee is therefore whoever runs the gambling. That is also who enforcement reaches: first a request to the operator to stop, then the internet providers, then the court.
Enforcement also reaches those who refer players to such sites. A streamer has accepted a fine of 10,000 kr. for referring, through Twitch, to gambling operators without a Danish licence. That is worth knowing when reading recommendations online: the person recommending is not out of reach.
This page gives no guidance on getting around a block, an exclusion or an age limit. If that is what you are looking for, this is the wrong place.
The six markers of «targeting Denmark»
The Gambling Authority lists what makes an offering count as aimed at the Danish market. One of the points is enough:
| Marker | What it means in the lobby |
|---|---|
| Danish language | The site exists in Danish |
| Danish currency | Balance and stakes in kroner |
| Payment cards that only work in Denmark | Dankort as a payment option |
| Danish customer service | Support in Danish |
| Connection through Steam | Gambling tied to the platform |
| The composition of the offering | For example bets on lower Danish leagues |
The list explains something many people wonder about: why a new casino without a Danish licence rarely has Danish language, Danish kroner or Danish support. The absence is not sloppiness, it is a position. It is also why the texts are often machine-translated when they do exist — one of the points on warning signs.
The blocks, in numbers
The Gambling Authority brings the cases before the court in Frederiksberg. Since 2024 it has done so twice a year instead of once.
- 870 illegal gambling sites have been blocked since 2012.
- 98 of them were added by the decision of 8 July 2026.
- 178 were blocked in a single case in June 2025 — the highest number in one
decision so far.
The block is a DNS block at the internet provider: the connection is cut at the company supplying the internet, and a page saying the address is blocked is shown instead. That is why an address can work today and be gone tomorrow without any notice from the operator.
For somebody considering a new casino without a Danish licence, that is practical information rather than legal: an account with money in it can become hard to reach without either you or the operator having done anything new. It is one more argument for the test withdrawal on the checklist and for not leaving a large balance standing.
What disappears along with the Danish licence
Three things belong to the permission and not to the game:
- The complaints route. With a Danish licence there is Danish supervision.
Without one, the route is whatever the licence states — in another country and in English. Where to find it is on check the licence.
- ROFUS. The Danish exclusion register covers Danish licences only. More on
- MitID and the preset limits. Sign-in and the pre-set limits are licence
conditions, and without them you have to set them yourself — see without a Danish licence.
What a Danish licence also is not
Here it is only fair to say both halves. A Danish permission is supervision, not a guarantee of the money in the account.
Jackpotbet A/S went bankrupt on 18 June 2026, and its licences for online casino and betting lapsed. Players with balances were referred to the trustee.
And the question of who the money belongs to is not settled. In the case about the bankrupt DK Gambling ApS, the High Court found for a player that funds in a gambling account are specially protected and go to the player ahead of the estate's other creditors. The decision overturned the earlier judgment of the Maritime and Commercial Court, and the case is on its way to the Supreme Court, where the Gambling Authority is intervening in support of the player.
The point is not that a licence is irrelevant. It is that a balance sitting still in a gambling account is a claim against a company — with or without a Danish licence. That is why the test withdrawal and a small standing balance are good practice whatever site you play at; see withdrawals.
And the tax
That is a separate question, and it does not depend on whether the site is blocked but on where the operator is based and how the game is approved. The rules from skat.dk are on tax on winnings.
The whole picture — what changes, what does not, and what you can check yourself — is collected on new casinos without a Danish licence.
Sources: the Danish Gambling Authority's own news items on the blocking of 98 and 178 gambling sites, on the bankruptcy of Jackpotbet A/S and on the case against DK Gambling ApS, read 23.09.2026.