Danske Spil has announced it has grown its annual result by more than 10% in 2021, recording gross gaming revenue figures of DKK4.83bn.
The Danish state-owned lottery and gaming operator has attributed its success to ‘good customer connectivity, optimised products and a targeted effort to improve digital sales channels’.
Danske Spil created 58% of its gross gaming revenue (which grew 6%) via its online channels, an increase of 8% from 2020. This was partly due to a successful price and product change on Lotto and Vikinglotto.
Despite acknowledging a number of challenges such as COVID-19, a ‘significant’ increase in the gaming fee for Danske Licens Spil and a requirement to strengthen its responsibility measures, the company enjoyed a record-breaking profit from Danske Lotteri Spil of almost DKK1.5bn.
Peter Christensen, Chairman of Danske Spil, commented: “We are very proud of the result we have delivered for the benefit of Danish society, and we are extremely happy that we have also been able to do so for another year, where we have taken important steps to make gaming with us more responsible.
“For the second year in a row, our contribution to the distribution funds breaks a record DKK1.5bn, which goes undiminished to the cultural, sports and association life in Denmark.”
Danske Spil’s social security contributions reached DKK2.8m in 2021, of which DKK1.5m were distribution funds, an increase of 13% from 2020 (DKK1.33m).
There has also been a firm commitment to bolster its responsible gaming measures, with 2021 the first full year of Danske Spil’s ‘Safe Games’ project, which abolishes the possibility of anonymous betting as a dealer.
Danske Spil also committed itself to a number of other initiatives in 2021, downgrading the limits on casino game deposits, reducing TV advertisements for sports betting and introducing better digital monitoring tools to aid the battle against gambling addiction.
“Responsibility must be fundamental to the way we do business. For us, responsibility, satisfied customers and long-term profitability are each other’s prerequisites,” added Nikolas Lyhne-Knudsen, CEO of Danske Spil.
“So we are very satisfied that we can both strengthen our responsibility and at the same time deliver a result of more than DKK1.6bn after tax and a bottom line growth of more than 10%.”
In total, the lottery held a 1.9m Danish customer base and received approximately 7,500 new subscriptions.
Danske Spil’s announcement included its expectations for 2022, with gross gaming revenue projected to land in the range of DKK4.8-5bn and post-tax profit of DKK1.6-7bn.
