Online Poker Licenses Awarded by Denmark

December 19 - The Danish government issued a list of operators who will be entitled to offer online poker services in the country from the beginning of next year.

The list of newly Danish-licensed online poker rooms includes top brands like Poker Stars, 888, Party Poker, Betsson, Entraction, Red Club Poker, as well as highly popular local online poker destination, Danske Spil.

All in all, 55 Danish online poker licenses were granted to 38 online poker operators.

Thor Moger Pederson, the Minister for Taxes in Denmark said about the list: "From January, the [Danish] online gambling market will be orderly, and we will ensure that holders of Danish betting and online casino license contribute to society."

"Danes as well as the many associations supported by the gambling market can be joyful," he added.

After January 1st, 2012, any online gambling or poker operator caught offering their services to Danish players without a license risk having their websites blocked by the country's Gambling Authority, and their payments seized.

"The orderly market means, among other things, that all gambling operators without a license from 1st January 2012 risk their websites or payments will be blocked," explained Pederson.

In a press release issued by the Danish Tax and Customs Administration, Pederson was quoted as saying: "The new and open gambling market in Denmark has been underway since the Parliament's decision in 2010."

Danish Online Poker to be Monitored

"On Tuesday next week, the Danish Gambling Authority will hold an information session for the new license holders to inform about upcoming activities on the gambling scene," he said. "License holders will, among other things, be briefed on how the Danish Gambling Authority will monitor the Danish gambling market and how the Danish Gambling Authority will cooperate with gambling authorities in other countries."

The full list of online casino operators approved by the Danish authorities is as follows:

888 Denmark, Apollo Entertainment, Befair International, Betsson, Bonnier Gaming, Cashpoint Ltd., Cryptologic, Danbook, Danske Licens Spil, Ekstra Bladet Spil, ElectraWorks Ltd. Entraction Operations, Gnuf Ltd., Hillside Gibraltar, Hillside New Media, iGame Malta, iGaming ApS, Interactive Sports Ltd, Intouch Casino, Ladbrokes International, MegaPixel Entertainment, Nordic Betting, Nordic Odds, PKR Technologies, Red Club Gaming, Reel Denmark, Scandic Bookmakers, Skill on Net, SPILNU, Stanleybet International, Unibet, Aller Media, Casidio Ltd, CTRL Mobile, Dot Net Gaming, Dumarca Gaming, Swush.com, THWeb Games.