Facing the Critics
The Danish government has come a long way in the past several years toward compliance with online casino gambling policies set out by the European Commission. The Commission has spent a lot of time in negotiations with the Danish government to put an end to the protectionist Danish policies that prevent foreign online casinos licensed in other EU member-states from entering the Danish gambling market. Over the past year though the Danish regulators have drafted up new gambling related regulations that are intended to more closely comply with the European Union’s set policies regarding the free-trade of goods and services between EU member-states.
The implementation of the Danish regulations has been delayed though because the European Commission claims that some of the specifications within the proposed Danish regulations still do not fully comply with the EU policies. The Commission has issued a waiting period on the implementation of the regulations so that it can further develop a response to the regulations that will then go back to the Danes for revisions. The online casino gambling industry is chomping at the bit to enter the Danish market, yet the long delays this year means that it will be a good long wait before any permanent changes take place in the country.
Denmark is moving in the right direction and the submission of the new regulations is a testament to the country’s desire to adhere to EU policies regarding the online casinos, but the process cannot and should not be rushed. As is evidenced in the US market, once a set of regulations pass through into law it is much harder to make changes and alterations so the gambling industry is willing to wait long enough to really ensure that the new regulations will create a more open and free Danish online gambling market.