Gambling in the Faroe Islands: Laws and Online Casinos

Published by Casino News Daily editorial teamReviewed byFilip RadulovicOur editorial approach

The Faroe Islands regulate gambling under their own legislation, passed by the Faroese parliament, the Løgting. Denmark’s Gambling Act (Spilleloven) does not apply in the islands, so the Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden) and its licences, blocklists and self-exclusion register are not part of the Faroese system. Instead, two Faroese statutes govern the field. The Act on Sports Betting of 2011 gives a statutory company, Sp/f Ítróttavedding, a central role in betting, lotto-type games and online gambling. The Act on Lotteries of 1987 governs charitable prize draws. Online betting and casino games may be offered to Faroese residents through agreements with Sp/f Ítróttavedding and are subject to a 15% levy on gross gaming revenue. This guide explains the history of the system, the legal framework, the position of online operators and players, taxation, consumer protection and the latest position in 2026.

Key points

Gambling is a Faroese competence. The Danish Gambling Act states expressly that it does not apply to the Faroe Islands or Greenland.
The main statute is Løgtingslóg nr. 51 of 17 May 2011 on sports betting (ítróttavedding), amended in 2014. It is administered by the Prime Minister (løgmaður).
Sp/f Ítróttavedding, owned by the Faroese government (20%), the Faroese Sports Federation (50%) and the Faroese Youth Council (30%), may run betting, telephone and online games and may contract with operators approved in Denmark or another Nordic country.
A 15% levy applies to gross gaming revenue from online betting and online casino games played in the Faroes, and a 15% levy applies to the part of lottery prizes above DKK 200. The levies go to Sp/f Ítróttavedding, whose surplus funds sport, youth work and disability organisations.
Organising unauthorised games, or acting as a paid intermediary for unauthorised foreign games, can lead to a fine or up to six months’ imprisonment. Players who take part in illegal games may be fined.
We found no Faroese website-blocking scheme, national self-exclusion register or dedicated gambling helpline in the official sources reviewed.

Last reviewed: 13 October 2026.

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Historical development

The Faroe Islands are a self-governing part of the Danish Realm with their own parliament and government. Lotteries and betting were among the areas the Faroese authorities took over and legislated for themselves. The first Faroese betting statute was Løgtingslóg nr. 50 of 20 May 1983 on sports betting. It allowed the government (landsstýrið) to license sports betting and lotto through a small private limited company, for five years at a time, and to approve cooperation with other Nordic operators. The company was owned by the Faroese treasury (20%), the Faroese Sports Federation, Ítróttasamband Føroya or ÍSF (50%), and the Faroese Youth Council, Føroya Ungdómsráð or FUR (30%), and its surplus went mainly to sport and youth work.

The 1983 Act was replaced by Løgtingslóg nr. 34 of 23 April 1999 on sports betting etc., amended in 2004. It confirmed Sp/f Ítróttarvedding as the licensed company and allowed it to agree with a publicly supervised betting operator in another Nordic country to sell that operator’s games in the Faroes. Games sold under the agreement with Dansk Tipstjeneste, the Danish state pools operator, followed Danish rules. It already penalised unauthorised games and their participants.

In practice, Faroese betting and lotto have long been supplied through a partnership with the Danish state-controlled lottery company. According to the Faroese Sports Federation’s 2011 annual report, cooperation between Sp/f Ítróttavedding and Danske Spil began in 1998. Faroese residents play Danske Spil games, and the Faroese company receives a payment based on turnover in the islands after prizes and administration. The federation’s 2008–2009 report and 2010 report described an agreement running from 1 June 2008 to 2013. The 2011 report put the total distribution at DKK 10,071,000, of which about DKK 6 million went to sport; ÍSF reported totals of about DKK 8.5 million in 2007 and just over DKK 9 million in 2008 (ÍSF news archive).

The current framework dates from 2011. A new Act on sports betting replaced the 1999 Act with effect from 15 September 2011 and referred expressly to online games. It was amended in 2014 to cover lottery-type games and to introduce a levy on online gambling revenue. A question put to the Danish Finance Minister through the Danish Parliament’s Finance Committee in January 2018 described the agreement between Danske Spil and Sp/f Ítróttavedding as still in place, with Danske Spil paying a fee for the right to offer games on the Faroese market under Faroese law. The document is a question, not an official answer, so it records how the arrangement was described at the time rather than confirming its terms. Danske Spil is 80% owned by the Danish state, with the remaining shares held by two Danish sports organisations (Den Store Danske / lex.dk).

Legal framework

Checking gambling legislation and licensing The Faroese legal position is defined first by what does not apply. Denmark’s Act no. 848 of 1 July 2010 on gambling (Spilleloven), which opened the Danish online market to licensed operators, provides in its final section (§ 76 of the Act as passed) that it does not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland. A Danish online licence therefore does not, by itself, authorise an operator to serve Faroese residents, and Danish enforcement tools do not operate in the islands.

Faroese legislation is published on the official law portal, logir.fo. Two Løgting Acts form the core of the gambling framework.

The Act on Sports Betting (2011)

Løgtingslóg nr. 51 of 17 May 2011 on sports betting (ítróttavedding), as amended by Løgtingslóg nr. 52 of 15 May 2014, is the principal statute for betting, lotto-type games and online gambling. It is listed on logir.fo as in force. Its main elements are:

The company. Sp/f Ítróttavedding is a jointly owned company of the government (20%), ÍSF (50%) and FUR (30%). It is run by a board of five or seven members. Its articles, board fees and staff salaries require government approval, and the government may request any information or documents (§§ 1–2).
Licence. The competent minister may license the company to run betting (veddingar), telephone games and online games. Since 2014 the company may also be licensed to run games of chance such as prize draws (happadrátt) that are not permitted under other law. At least 50% of stakes must be returned as prizes, the licence must be renewed at least every five years, and it must list the games covered (§ 3).
Agreements with other operators. The company may agree with betting and gaming companies approved by the Danish gambling authority, or approved in another Nordic country, to offer their games in the Faroes. Each agreement needs ministerial approval, may last up to five years and may not outlast the company’s licence. The operator must meet the same conditions in the Faroes as in its approving country, whose rules then replace the 50% payout rule. The company may charge a fee for concluding an agreement and an annual licence fee (§ 4).
Levies. A 15% levy applies to the part of any prize from games of chance and lotteries that exceeds DKK 200, and a 15% levy applies to the gross gaming revenue from online betting, online casino games and similar games played in the Faroes (§ 6). The levies are paid to Sp/f Ítróttavedding (§ 7).
Distribution of surplus. The annual surplus goes 60% to ÍSF for sport, 20% to FUR for children and youth, 15% to the Ministry of Culture for children’s and youth work, and 5% to Meginfelag teirra Brekaðu, the umbrella organisation for people with disabilities (§ 8). The National Audit Office (Landsgrannskoðanin) checks that the money is used for public-benefit purposes (§ 9).
Penalties. Organising unauthorised gambling covered by the Act, or acting as a paid intermediary for participation in foreign games not authorised under § 4, is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to six months. Companies can be held criminally liable, and anyone who takes part in such illegal games may be fined (§ 13).

The Act on Lotteries (1987)

Løgtingslóg nr. 53 of 7 May 1987 on lotteries etc. (eydnuspæl v.m.), last amended in 2009, governs prize draws in which participants pay for a chance to win and the outcome is wholly or partly random. It came into force on 1 July 1987 and repealed a law of 6 March 1869 on the class lottery and the prohibition of other lotteries. A lottery requires a permit from the government, and a separate permit is needed to sell foreign lottery tickets (§ 2). Permits are granted only to associations for public-benefit or charitable purposes, never for political purposes. Standard conditions include returning at least 25% of ticket sales as prizes, no cash prizes, no ticket sellers under 15 and a maximum sales period of eight weeks (§ 3). Small annual lotteries by tax-exempt associations and members-only lotteries may be held on notification rather than by permit (§§ 4–5). Breaches are punishable by a fine (§ 8).

Administration of the 1987 Act has been delegated. Under Executive Order nr. 163 of 18 December 2013 on the administration of lotteries, the Prime Minister transferred decision-making powers under the Act to TAKS, the Faroese tax and customs administration. TAKS decisions can be appealed in writing to the Prime Minister within four weeks, and an application fee of DKK 200 is payable.

Casinos and gaming machines

Neither Act mentions land-based casinos, and the 1987 Act limits lotteries to charitable purposes with non-cash prizes. We found no Faroese provision authorising a casino and no licensed casino in the islands. The texts reviewed also contain no specific rules on gaming machines.

Regulator and licensing model

The Faroe Islands have no independent gambling regulator comparable to a national gambling authority. Responsibility lies with the Prime Minister (løgmaður). The government notice on the division of ministerial portfolios issued on 13 April 2026 (Fráboðan nr. 33) lists both the 1987 Act on lotteries and the 2011 Act on sports betting among the Prime Minister’s administrative powers, together with the state’s rights in relation to Sp/f Ítróttavedding. The previous notice of 24 November 2025 (nr. 181) likewise assigned the 1987 Act to the Prime Minister, but placed the 2011 Act on sports betting with the Minister of Finance.

The resulting model can be described as a single-channel system. A monopoly, in gambling policy, means that one designated operator holds the exclusive right to offer a given type of game. The Faroese Act does not use that word, but it achieves a similar result: betting, lotto-type games and online games may be offered only by Sp/f Ítróttavedding under its licence, or by operators that have concluded a ministerially approved agreement with it. There is no open application procedure under which an operator can obtain a Faroese licence directly from a public authority. Supervision of the company’s activities and accounts is arranged by the government, which may order corrections and, in serious or repeated cases, withdraw the licence (§§ 10–12 of the 2011 Act). Charitable lotteries form a separate track under the 1987 Act, with permits issued by TAKS.

We did not find an official public register of the operators that currently hold agreements with Sp/f Ítróttavedding, or published figures on its fees.

Online gambling

Online casino games on mobile devices Online gambling has been addressed expressly since 2011, when the Act on sports betting allowed Sp/f Ítróttavedding to run “betting, telephone games and online games”. The 2014 amendment went further. According to the report of the Løgting’s Legal Affairs Committee on bill 114/2013, signed on 30 April 2014, the original wording did not clearly cover lottery-type products such as scratch games and class lotteries, so there was no legal basis to permit them. The amendment closed that gap. The committee unanimously recommended adoption and welcomed the prospect that proceeds from these games would benefit public-benefit causes in the Faroes.

The 2014 amendment also introduced the 15% levy on gross gaming revenue from online betting, online casino games and similar games played in the Faroes. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) means the total amount staked less the winnings paid out. The amending Act contained a transitional rule: gaming companies already operating in the Faroes without a licence under other law had to conclude an agreement with Sp/f Ítróttavedding by 31 December 2014 if they wished to continue. In effect, foreign online operators serving Faroese residents are expected to do so through such an agreement.

On enforcement, the statutory tools are criminal penalties rather than technical blocking. Organising unauthorised games, or acting as a paid intermediary for foreign games not covered by an approved agreement, can lead to a fine or up to six months’ imprisonment. We found no Faroese list of blocked gambling websites, no requirement on internet service providers to block domains and no rules on blocking payments to unlicensed operators. Danish blocking measures are made under Danish law, which does not extend to the islands. We also found no gambling-specific advertising rules in the two Acts; the 2011 Act regulates who may organise and broker games but does not address marketing directly.

Position of players

Faroese law expressly reaches players. Section 13(3) of the 2011 Act provides that a person who takes part in illegal games covered by the Act may be fined. The same rule existed in the 1999 Act. Because the Act covers online games, playing with an online operator that has no agreement with Sp/f Ítróttavedding may fall within this provision. However, we found no reported prosecution or fine of a Faroese player for gambling online, and no published guidance from the Faroese authorities on how the provision is applied. On the face of the statute, participation is a fineable offence, but enforcement against players is undocumented.

Taxation

The 2011 Act sets two levies, both paid to Sp/f Ítróttavedding rather than to the general treasury:

Prize levy: 15% of the part of any prize from games of chance, prize draws and similar lotteries that exceeds DKK 200 (§ 6(1)).
Online GGR levy: 15% of gross gaming revenue from online betting, online casino games and similar games played in the Faroes (§ 6(2)).

Sp/f Ítróttavedding may also charge partner operators a fee for concluding an agreement and an annual licence fee (§ 4(4)). Distributions of the company’s surplus to the statutory beneficiaries may be deducted from its taxable income (§ 8(2)). The 1987 Act allows the minister to set fees for lottery permits, and the 2013 executive order fixes the application fee at DKK 200.

The sources reviewed did not explain how the prize levy is collected in practice, or how, if at all, other gambling winnings are treated under Faroese personal income tax. Players with significant winnings, particularly from operators outside the agreement system, should ask TAKS.

Consumer protection and responsible gambling

The Faroese Acts contain few player-protection rules of the kind found in modern licensing laws. The 1987 Act bars people under 15 from selling lottery tickets, but neither Act sets a minimum age for playing. Protection in online games rests largely on the requirement that partner operators observe the rules of the Danish or other Nordic regulator that approved them, rather than on Faroese consumer-protection rules.

There is no Faroese self-exclusion register in the official sources we reviewed. Denmark’s register of voluntarily excluded players, ROFUS, is operated by the Danish Gambling Authority. According to the authority’s ROFUS page, registration is made mainly through Danish MitID, and an exclusion covers online betting and casino games offered by operators with a Danish licence, Danish land-based casinos and, for newer registrations, in-person betting in Denmark. The page does not mention the Faroe Islands, and ROFUS is a creature of Danish law.

For advice, the Danish national gambling helpline StopSpillet, run by the Danish Gambling Authority, can be reached on +45 70 22 28 25 (Monday to Thursday 9:00–21:00, Friday 9:00–17:00) and by chat. Conversations are confidential, according to the service. It is a Danish service, and we could not confirm whether it offers any arrangements specific to the Faroes. We did not find a dedicated Faroese gambling helpline; residents can also approach their general practitioner or the Faroese health service. Our responsible gambling guide sets out general steps for keeping gambling under control.

Recent and upcoming developments

Ministerial responsibility moved (2025–2026). Under the portfolio notice of 24 November 2025, the 2011 Act on sports betting sat with the Minister of Finance. The notice of 13 April 2026, as last amended on 16 September 2026, places both gambling Acts and the state’s rights in Sp/f Ítróttavedding with the Prime Minister.

No reform bill identified. We found no bill, committee report or Løgting debate on gambling from 2023 to 2026 in the sources reviewed, and the 2011 Act remains in force in the form amended in 2014. In particular, we found no proposal to create an independent regulator, a website-blocking regime or a national self-exclusion register. Readers should check the Løgting’s case list and logir.fo for new proposals.

Points to watch. The current terms of the agreement with Danske Spil, last reported as in place in 2018, are not published.

Casino listings for players in the Faroe Islands

The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not by themselves show that an operator is authorised to serve Faroese residents. Under the Act on sports betting, online casino games are lawful in the Faroes only when offered under an approved agreement with Sp/f Ítróttavedding, and no public register of those agreements is published. A Danish or other foreign licence alone is not enough, and taking part in unauthorised games can be fined under Faroese law, so the listings must not be read as an indication that playing with a given operator is lawful. Readers should check an operator’s status with Sp/f Ítróttavedding or the Prime Minister’s Office before registering.

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Key points

Top Rated Online Casinos for Faroe Islands

Historical development

Legal framework

The Act on Sports Betting (2011)

The Act on Lotteries (1987)

Casinos and gaming machines

Regulator and licensing model

Online gambling

Position of players

Taxation

Consumer protection and responsible gambling

Recent and upcoming developments

Casino listings for players in the Faroe Islands

Related country guides

Sources and further reading

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