Danish gambling regulator, Spillemyndigheden, has identified a number of skin gambling sites operating illegally in the country and began working with proper authorities to cease operation in Denmark. For a while now, Counter-Strike skin gambling has been a problem worldwide, but the Danish authorities are working hard to target it in particular.
The Spillemyndigheden has now contacted Denmark’s Internet Service Providers (ISP) and requested that access to these Counter-Strike skin gambling sites be blocked for not possessing the requisite licenses to provide their services in the country. With the support of the Copenhagen City Court, the blocking of these sites went into effect following a ruling as sought by the Danish Gambling Authority.
A total of 25 sites were targeted through the action that included ten gaming sites and 15 skin betting destinations. Birgitte Sand, Director of the Spillemyndigheden, commented on the activity, saying: “We use our authority to block websites on an ongoing basis. We do this to protect the gaming providers who are authorised to offer games in Denmark, but also to protect the players.”
“Here we are focusing in particular on sites that offer skin betting, as they often target children and adolescents under the age of 18.”
According to a 2018 report by Juniper Research, skin gambling along with loot boxes had been forecast to generate a whopping $50 billion (£43bn) by 2022. The report also stated that 11% of 11-16-year-olds had placed a wager on a skin gambling site during 2017.
Skin gambling sites can be a shadowy territory with severe risk of underage gambling; the Danish Gaming Authority has established itself as a leader in tackling this facet of the betting industry head-on. This past January, a number of skin betting sites were requested to be blocked through ISPs after the regulator identified them as not owning a Danish license.
Sand expressed the Authority’s commitment to police illicit gambling sites, saying “We will continue to work purposefully and persistently to find and block illegal skin betting websites, although the work needed to document and block these sites tends to be complicated.”
Esports Insider Says: The Spillemyndigheden has been one of the most disruptive forces in the online gambling market, leading an assault on unauthorised skin betting sites; and though the crackdowns may be a bit alarming, its work is helping clean up what some may consider a tarnished industry.