Disjointed regulation around Europe “not good enough”, says former Danish regulator 

Different regulators having conflicting rules on the same issue is having a detrimental effect on the European market, according to the former head of the Danish regulator.  

Birgitte Sand, ex-director general of the Danish Gambling Authority, has lamented the “lack of convergence” between regulators in different European jurisdictions.  

Sand led the Danish Gambling Authority for 12 years between January 2008 and March 2020.

She is a current board member for Mindway AI, the All-in Diversity project and the International Center for Responsible Gaming.

Speaking on a panel at ICE 2025 concerning global trends in gambling regulation, Sand highlighted advertising and responsible gambling as examples concerning a lack of cohesion.  

She said: “Let’s look at two issues like advertising and responsible gambling. When we look at the restrictions and regulations in place, just in Europe across more than 40 countries, it looks like a patchwork.   

“It’s very ‘yes, no, yes, no, yes, no.’ There aren’t really that many yes’s or no’s on the same issue. It’s a pure zigzag around the map and I think that is not good enough.   

“I’m still very involved in the industry, and they’re telling us former or current regulators to do better.

“There’s a huge lack of convergence out there. I know that there are many reasons for that, but still it’s sad to see that we haven’t done better in Europe just yet.” 

Fellow panelist David Yatom, general counsel at Soft2Bet, suggested that the insular approach taken by regulators is having a knock-on effect to player protection further down the line.  

Soft2Bet is live with its B2C brands in several European markets, including Italy, Romania, Denmark and Ireland.

He added: “One thing that categorises regulators is that they mostly focus on their own territories. From an industry perspective, when I try and enter a foreign market and try and apply for licensing, mostly concentrating on certification requirements, we see the difference.   

“We see the difference in the changes we need to implement into our system, changes in the approach of the regulator and changes in the ongoing compliance.   

“That creates a complexity that takes our focus away from trying to comply with the general goals that you as regulators and us as the industry want to set for ourselves, which is the protection of players.” 

Hay also acknowledged that the disconnect is caused by regulators being torn between what is best for players and what politicians are demanding.  

He continued: “I do understand the complexities. I had the privilege of speaking with a regulator this week, and one of the focuses of the discussion was the internal struggle that they have with the government.  

“They have certain rules and certain voters. They have the task of trying to satisfy both the people and the political aspects and that’s a challenge.” 

The post Disjointed regulation around Europe “not good enough”, says former Danish regulator  first appeared on EGR Intel.

 Ex-Danish Gambling Authority boss Birgitte Sand says fractured approach to core facets of industry regulation has strained relationships between regulators and operators
The post Disjointed regulation around Europe “not good enough”, says former Danish regulator  first appeared on EGR Intel.