Denmark Reopens Land-Based Casino Licensing With Nov. 3 Deadline

The Danish Gambling Authority opened applications this week for land-based casino licenses running up to 10 years, according to a regulator notice reported by industry press. It set a Nov. 3 deadline for complete documentation. Seven licensed venues hold the market, and their revenue fell 5.6% in 2025.

Each application goes to consultation with the local municipality, the local chief of police, the Ministry of Taxation and the Ministry of Business and Industry. A casino that would operate aboard a ship also goes to consultation with the Danish Maritime Authority, the authority said.

Regulator Weighs Finances Before Location

The licenses rest on Consolidated Act No. 1182 of Sept. 22, 2025. The authority weighs professional suitability, financial soundness, geography and the customers a project would draw, according to the criteria it published for the round.

When deciding whether a licence can be granted, the Danish Gambling Authority places emphasis on whether the applicant can be assumed to operate the land-based casino in a fully professionally and financially responsible manner.

The authority is known in Denmark as Spillemyndigheden. It set out that test alongside requirements covering company ownership, equity, profit, credit facilities and an operating budget.

A licensee pays an annual fee scaled to taxable gross gaming revenue, the money a casino keeps after paying winnings. The fee starts at DKK 196,700 ($30,300). It reaches more than DKK 1.6 million ($253,000) once revenue passes DKK 100 million ($15 million), according to the authority's 2026 fee schedule.

Online Play Grows as Retail Casinos Shrink

Land-based casinos took DKK 378 million ($58 million) in gross gaming revenue in 2025, the authority reported in its annual review of the Danish market. That was 3% of a DKK 11.5 billion ($1.8 billion) market.

Online casinos took DKK 4.31 billion ($664 million), up 12.1%. They passed lotteries as the largest segment for the first time since Denmark opened its market in 2012.

Operators in other regulated markets are cutting retail estates against the same shift. Betfred opened staff consultation on July 31 on closing 132 British betting shops. Pennsylvania's online casinos out-earned land-based slots in the 2025/26 fiscal year for the first time.

The seven current licenses cover casinos in Copenhagen, Helsingør, Odense, Vejle, Aarhus and Aalborg, according to industry press reports. Under the regulator's guidance on land-based casinos, a license is offered publicly when a holder gives one up, or when the government decides to allow more.

How many licenses the authority will issue could not be determined. Whether the seven current holders will apply again could not be established.

The window closes Nov. 3. When the authority will decide could not be determined.