Danish Government Earmarks Funds to Combat Problem Gambling
The government of Denmark commits to release a total of DKK30m (£3.6m, C4m) in 3 years. DKK10m will be released each year between 2023 and 2025, to support ongoing efforts and projects to tackle problem gambling, given that recent research has suggested that almost 500,000 Danes suffer from problem gambling in some form.
Disbursement of Funds
The first DKK10m (C1.3m) will be spent on initiatives targeting children and young people, as well as for further research into gambling addiction.
An application pool with DKK5.0 (C691, 000) will be created at the Ministry of the Interior and Health, for treatments and remedies for those who suffer with addiction.
A total of DKK2.5m (C335,500) will be given to the Danish gambling regulator, to use in a nationwide information campaign on gambling, targeting children and young people, as well as parents and other relatives.
A further DKK1.5m (C201, 276) will be used to fund the development of new content for use on a national platform offering advice and information on gambling addiction.
Another DKK1.0m (C134, 184) will be reserved for the regulator to launch a joint study looking at gambling addiction across all Nordic countries.
The Project
This project would require the support of other Nordic nations to also allocate funds to the projects, and in the event that it fails to proceed, the earmarked funds would be allocated to the nationwide campaign.
According to Denmark’s Minister for Tax, Jeppe Bruus, the development seen in the gaming area is very worrying, and as gambling addiction can have major and long-lasting consequences for those involved, the government has a special obligation to protect children and young people and other vulnerable groups.
Other Nordic gambling regulators like Norway’s Lottstift and Sweden’s Spelinspektionen are said to have become more alert to problem gambling and particularly black-market threats over the past year.
Source: SBC News
