Representatives of the Spanish gambling regulator – Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), and its Danish counterpart – Spillemyndigheden, participated earlier this week in a meeting that saw gambling officials from the two bodies discuss the future of the growing online gambling sector.
The meeting took place on June 19-20 in Madrid. Representatives of the regulators dwelt on different topics, all centered around the way the online gambling market should be designed in order to function in accordance with contemporary demand. Regulation of commercial communications was another important matter gambling authorities paid special attention to.
The gambling industry being used for a medium for money laundering and other financial crimes has been the subject of growing concerns. DGOJ and the Danish Gaming Authority used their meeting as an opportunity to discuss strategies for more effective prevention of any such issues. Models for improved data reporting were among the approaches focused on by gambling regulators from Spain and Denmark.
As DGOJ said in a Wednesday statement, the online gambling markets of the two countries bear resemblance that creates excellent conditions for future partnerships and joint work on different projects. Both Spain and Denmark opened their iGaming markets for licensed international casino and sports betting operations back in 2012.
Could Denmark Be Joining Shared Online Poker Liquidity Talks
Although DGOJ did not mention it specifically, there is a big chance that participants in the recent meeting, among whom were Spillemyndigheden Director Birgitte Sand and DGOJ Director General Juan Espinosa García, may have discussed online poker and shared liquidity.
It began clear late last year that the gambling regulators of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the UK were in continued talks for the creation of a poker network that would merge their player pools for better profitability. Talks have progressed quickly over the past several months and it was announced that first shared online poker liquidity agreements will be signed by the end of June. As a result, the first poker network could be created by the year’s end or early in 2018.
According to latest reports, the UK may not be part of the effort or at least not for now, due to the start of Brexit negotiations. On the other hand, the regulators of Austria and Germany have joined ongoing talks and may eventually participate in the shared liquidity project.
The Madrid meeting between Danish and Spanish gambling regulators could be a good signal that Denmark may express interest in taking part of the effort that is aimed to improve the state of European online poker. Here it is important to note that the Danish online poker market is not ring-fenced, unlike the ones of Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France. This means that Danish players can play at online poker websites that are licensed by other EU gambling authorities.
