Denmark’s Gambling Authority’s Register of Self-Excluded Players (ROFUS) has announced they have reached a significant milestone of 60,000 users having chosen to exclude themselves from gambling.
Since its inception in 2012, the registry has allowed people to self-exclude from online gambling, land-based casinos, and betting at licensed dealers in Denmark with just a few clicks and it has enjoyed more interaction in the past few years – and it has grown year on year.
Going from less than 1500 in the first year to now over 60,000, the recent rise has been attributed to two decisions: increased requirements for gambling operators to provide information about ROFUS and the Danish Gambling Authority’s campaigns.
Those campaigns have targeted a younger audience, specifically young men who account for as many as 58% of all registered men under the age of 40. Plus, in the age group under 20 years, 96% are men.
Campaigns were made to target this demographic and the Director of the Danish Gambling Authority, Anders Dorph, is pleased with the success they’ve achieved and their work fighting gambling addiction. “The figures confirm a trend we have seen for several years – namely that young men are particularly at risk of problematic gambling behaviour.
“Therefore, we work purposefully with information in this particular group, including through presentations at youth educations,” said Dorph. “It is gratifying that those who need to exclude themselves from gambling are using ROFUS. This shows that awareness of the tool is growing and that it fulfils an important function in the effort against gambling addiction.”
The campaign titled: “Take it easy it with ROFUS,” aimed to change young men’s perception of ROFUS and make exclusion from gambling less taboo. Given the nature of the results, it has clearly been a greatly successful enterprise with their latest record.
The country now ranks fifth globally in terms of regulated online gambling market share and has enjoyed strong growth in the industry already in March of this year. As discussed in SBC’s iGaming Four Continents, One Podcast in May, the country posted positive numbers driven by online casino interaction.
That sector continued to lead the market which consolidated a strong spell for the country’s gambling market in terms of growth. Total expenditure in 2024 reached £7.6bn (a 5.6% increase from 2023) and it was described as a ‘high-value market’ by the podcast panel who believe other countries should look to emulate the success of the Nordic countries in relation to how they have enabled the regulative market to grow.
A similar story has emerged in Slovakia, where the country’s Register of Excluded Persons (RVO) surpassed 20,000 last month, reaching 20,544 at the end of May.
In May, 513 self-excluded players were added to the list, while 186 people requested deletion. In addition, following the launch of the RVO in May 2020, within a year, there were 5,871 people who voluntarily self-excluded from gambling.
“Exceeding the twenty thousand self-exclusion threshold confirms the functionality and justification of this key regulatory tool,” said Jana Mravíková, director general of the Gambling Regulatory Authority. “For the Office, it is a signal that citizens perceive self-exclusion as an accessible and effective form of prevention.
“Our goal is to create and maintain a safe and transparent environment in the gambling market. Data from the Register of Excluded Persons is a valuable basis for us in further setting the principles of responsible gaming and in targeted education of the public about the possible risks of gambling.”
