{"id":102243,"date":"2019-04-07T02:00:05","date_gmt":"2019-04-07T09:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=102243"},"modified":"2019-04-06T19:28:59","modified_gmt":"2019-04-07T02:28:59","slug":"skin-betting-gets-attention-of-denmarks-regulators-as-illegal-sites-are-blocked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/skin-betting-gets-attention-of-denmarks-regulators-as-illegal-sites-are-blocked\/","title":{"rendered":"Skin Betting Gets Attention of Denmark\u2019s Regulators as Illegal Sites Are Blocked"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denmark is cracking down on skin betting — which is gambling with virtual goods — with illegal sites getting shut down out of concern for teenagers and children.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Copenhagen is a picturesque city in Denmark but it is also dealing with illegal online gambling such as skin betting. (Image: The Intrepid Guide)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last month, a court in Copenhagen approved the government\u2019s request for telecom companies to block 25 unlicensed online sites. Ten of these had casino games or sports betting, and 15 offered skin betting.<\/p>\n

Skins are coverings found in video or internet games, and sometimes start as video games but suddenly turn into gambling, according to gambling abuse experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cMight be the look of armor, a weapon or even a background,\u201d explained Dr. James P. Whelan, a professor and co-director at the University of Memphis\u2019 Institute for Gambling Education and Research.<\/p>\n

The skins or covers can be simple or flashy,\u201d Whelan told Casino.org<\/em>, adding that \u201ca player wagers something of value in order to have a chance or a better chance of winning such a covering\u2026. It is basically gambling while gaming.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dr. Jeffrey L. Derevensky, who is director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-risk Behaviours at Canada\u2019s McGill University, further told Casino.org<\/em> that skins \u201chave no direct influence on game play\u201d but have become \u201ca form of virtual currency.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertain skins became highly sought-after by players\u2026. Unfortunately, many of the \u2018best\u2019 items are difficult to obtain, thereby raising their value.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Danish regulators were particularly concerned that skin sites \u201coften target children and adolescents under the age of 18,\u201d Birgitte Sand, director of the Danish Gambling Authority, said in a statement released this week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe items won, typically modified weapons — guns or knives — within a video game can often be bought and\/or sold — and turned back into real money,\u201d Derevensky said.<\/p>\n

This is the second time in the last year the Danish regulator went to court to block skin betting sites. In February 2018, six such websites were blocked.<\/p>\n

In the last year, the authority adopted a new strategy that officials say is more successful in finding the sites.<\/p>\n

Denmark Regulators Outsmart Skin Betting Sites<\/h2>\n

Skin betting sites have sometimes circumvented regulators, and that tends \u201cto complicate our work of documenting and blocking,\u201d Sand says. But the authority more recently has used WebCrawler to successfully search for the sites.<\/p>\n

Sand explains that the ongoing blocking of illegal sites protects both licensed operators and players.<\/p>\n

Last year, the regulator also closed four Facebook groups that provided illegal gambling.<\/p>\n

Officials say that since 2012 there has been a decline in the number of websites that target Denmark with illegal gambling, according to a recent authority report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The authority admits it has ongoing \u201cchallenges\u201d with websites that carry \u201cillegal marketing and promotion of gambling sites\u201d as well as with skin betting and illegal gambling on Facebook.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The authority also notes almost all illegal skin betting websites use the platform Steam for users to login.<\/p>\n

Overall, gross gaming revenue (GGR) from legal online operations has been on the rise in Denmark. In the last quarter of 2018, online casinos saw DKK 554.9 million (US $83.4 million) in GGR which is 15.8 percent higher than the Q4 of 2017. These percentages follow the basic \u201cupwards trend seen since 2012,\u201d according to the regulator\u2019s reports.<\/p>\n

Even back in 2017, Casino.org<\/em> reported that Denmark\u2019s gambling market<\/a> continued to grow, especially with increased interest in sports betting and a healthy online casino market — and many users employing mobile devices.<\/p>\n

Concern in United Kingdom<\/h2>\n

In the nearby United Kingdom, the Gambling Commission’s annual report, released last November, looked at skin betting for the first time.<\/p>\n

Derevensky points out the UK commission says that cracking down on the industry is now a top priority.<\/p>\n

In 2017, ESP.bet, operator of specialist esports fantasy league and betting website, eSportsPools, became the owner of what is believed to be the first-ever gaming license that covers skin-betting from the regulator for the UK\u2019s Isle of Man<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denmark is cracking down on skin betting — which is gambling with virtual goods — with illegal sites getting shut down out of concern for teenagers and children. Last month, a court in Copenhagen approved the government\u2019s request for telecom companies to block 25 unlicensed online sites. Ten of these had casino games or sports […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":102246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSkin Betting Gets Attention of Denmark\u2019s Regulators<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Denmark is cracking down on \u201cskin\u201d betting -- which is gaming with virtual goods -- as well as other forms of illegal online gambling. 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