Denmark Introduces Mandatory ID Card for Retail Betting

The Danish government has announced plans to introduce a mandatory “playing card” ID that gamblers would need to be able to place bets at kiosks and other physical stores. The ID card would be introduced from July next year.

The compulsory ID is intended to reduce the risk of money laundering and match fixing, but the government said it would also help to protect minors and those with gambling problems.

“With the playing card, we do away with the opportunity to play anonymously in, among other things, football matches,” Morten Bødskov, Denmark’s Minister of Taxation, said.

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“We are thus putting a stick in the wheel of the criminals who use this type of game as a means of, for example, laundering money. With the playing card, players must register, no matter how small amounts they play for, and data about their games are analysed and reported to the authorities if it seems suspicious.”

The card will ensure that young people under the age of 18 are not allowed to place bets, and it may be used to check whether the player has voluntarily excluded himself from gambling or exceeded self-imposed spend limits. Lotto coupons and scratch cards are not covered by the requirement for a playing card.

“There is a need to tighten the rules in the gaming area. Many Danes – especially young men – have problems with gambling, and this often has major consequences for themselves, their future and their families. That is why we have agreed with a broad majority of the parliamentary parties to launch a playing card. It is a targeted bet, as this is where the problems with gambling addiction are greatest,” Bødskov added.