Denmark reconsiders gambling marketing rules after sports clubs protest

Denmark-licensed casino companies and sports bodies have shown a red card to new marketing regulations in the region, leading the government to investigate the boundaries of those laws.

Earlier this month, the Consumer Ombudsman of Denmark sought to explain the country's new Marketing Act that came into force on July 1. The note referred to section 11b, paragraph 1 of the Marketing Act, which bans "the promotion of consumer lending firms and consumer credit arrangements relating to the selling of games and software suppliers". 

The Ombudsman said it had been approached by an unspecified sports league which had signed a title partnership with a gaming operator. This is a reference to the NordicBet Liga, or the Danish 1st Division, Danish football's second-tier, which recently had to abandon its association with NordicBet (a Swedish Betsson AB brand).

Provided that the logo of the league would feature on all club shirts, match balls, in-stadia screens, websites and television shows, the name of the game company would also appear.

The league needed to know how this title agreement would jeopardize endorsement arrangements that can be signed by particular teams with customer loan firms, whether they be logos on shirts, in-stadia advertisements and blogs or by stadium naming rights.

The Ombudsman acknowledged that the Act's purpose was to ensure customers were not concurrently subjected to gaming and loan deals and prevent gamblers from taking out high-interest loans while avoiding risks from gambling.

Although the Act's word, though, provides plenty of space for understanding, the Ombudsman said there was no wiggle room if the league carried a casino operator's brand when bank loan goods were sold by other promotional channels accessible to sports fans.

The Ombudsman determined that it would be a breach of the Act "to advertise the logo, identity or other features of player uniforms on which the league's name or logo was also written".

That opinion led to a lawsuit being lodged by the local Alliance Against Gambling addiction, which found fault with the logo of Mr Green's online casino company William Hill featuring on the back of the AaB uniforms, Mr Green's logo appears, while the front shows spar nord's emblem, a Danish Financial Institution.

The partnership argued that this was a blatant infringement of the Act, although the team clearly thought that it was in the open, since both sides of the shirts could not be seen simultaneously. Other Danish sporting organisations have been crying foul at the Ombudsman's decision, mindful of the possible damage to their marketing profits in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, which has ripped a crater in most clubs finances. Owing to confusion about the legislation, Arbejdernes Landsbank recently removed its sponsorship of the Danish National Football Team.

The Ombudsman observed that the Act could even prevent a banking company from funding a match broadcast involving a gambling sponsor, or even airing banking ads in promotional blocks directly before or after match. Websites featuring a gambling sponsor will also be off-limits for banking advertisements.

Simon Kollerup, Minister of Trade and Industry of Denmark, announced this week that the government would huddle to negotiate an appropriate balance between protecting consumers and ensuring that sport is not disrupted.