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Denmark Internet Gambling Regulatory Plans Delayed

The Northern European nation of Denmark had originally intended to follow the footsteps of some of its European neighbors like France and Italy by implementing online gambling regulations in 2011.

The licensing process was supposed to start in January this year, explains Mark Freedman of CasinoAdvisor.com. But a dispute over taxation has stopped that process cold.

“Last week the Danish tax minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, met the industry managers and informed them that the dispute will be resolved and the new online gambling regime will be put in place by the autumn of 2011,” Freedman writes.

There had been rumors that the problems would take years to sort out; for purposes of reassuring economic interests, Poulsen seemed eager to put those rumors to bed and let everyone know the plan is basically on track.

“Once the new regime is in place, any operator that does not hold a Danish licence will face fines and even imprisonment if it continues to target Danish players,” according to Global Betting & Gaming Consultants (GBGC). “ISPs will have to block access to unlicensed websites and banks will have to block transactions.”

The dispute causing the delay is based on the proposed tax rate for licensed online gambling operators. Land-based casino operators had been slated for higher taxes than online gambling websites. That, not surprisingly, raised objections from land-based casino interests.

The issue of Denmark’s regulated online gambling market is expected to be a central theme in the upcoming, Scandinavia-focused i-Gaming Forum in April.