Danish regulator blocks 98 more unlicensed gambling websites, including Polymarket

Spillemyndigheden has ordered internet service providers in Denmark to block 98 gambling websites that it says were targeting Danish customers without a licence. For high-risk PSPs, the point is simple: Denmark is still using court-backed blocking, and the regulator is pairing that with payment and access scrutiny.

1. The latest blocklist brings the total number of illegal gambling domains blocked since 2012 to 870. According to Spillemyndigheden, the sites were using Danish language, currency, and national symbols, and were also offering local payment methods and customer service in Danish.
2. The regulator said the websites were deliberately targeting Danish users, with marketing materials tailored specifically to residents. The move was only possible after the court in Frederiksberg ruled in favour of the regulator’s request to restrict access to the sites.
3. The list of blocked websites includes Polymarket. Danish Tax Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt welcomed the ruling, and was reported as saying: “We’re talking about people losing their lives. About families losing their loved ones. About wars that destroy entire societies. And then someone sits there and says, ‘What if we could bet on when it happens?’ It’s crazy,” adding, “A human life is not a lottery ticket.”
4. Under Danish law, gambling services cannot be offered without a licence from Spillemyndigheden. The regulator’s process starts with cease-and-desist notices to operators; if they do not comply, it contacts telecommunications providers to block access, and only then does the matter go to the courts for confirmation and authorisation of blocking.
5. In its annual report, Spillemyndigheden said it obtained court approval to block 334 illegal gambling websites in 2025. It said 695 sites were flagged for review with the Danish Tax Authority’s anti-fraud division, with 334 confirmed by the courts as operating without a Danish licence and 36 withdrawing or changing their services after regulatory pressure.

There is also a payments angle here. The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, Finanstilsynet, has temporarily blocked Inpay A/S from entering into new agreements with online gaming operators, following a regulatory review earlier this year. For PSPs, Denmark is showing the familiar pattern: access controls on the front end, licensing checks in the middle, and pressure on payment relationships in parallel.