Betting operator Danske Spil has launched new player ID cards, moving all land-based betting towards an account-based digital system.

The ID card named “Sikkert Spil” has initially been made available to stores that sell Oddset and Tips services. It will be made mandatory throughout its partner kiosks, supermarkets and petrol stations across the country.

Niels Erik Folmann, director of Danske Licens Spil, said: “Over the years, we have developed more and more protection to ensure that children and young people under the age of 18 do not have access to our sports games.

“But we must unfortunately admit that we have not fully succeeded in the task. It is still too easy for minors to play in the shops, and therefore we are now introducing Safe Games.

“We hope that our many customers, who are used to playing in the shops, will welcome the new Game ID, which they will now start trying out. It will probably require a little getting used to at first, but we have made an effort to make a solution that is easy and quick to use. And by using the Game ID, we can together protect minors from gambling.”

The roll out of the cards was initially announced in 2019. At that time, Danske Spil estimated that 3000 gamers will be required to show the identification card to ensure that its games “are not sold to young people under 18 or abused by criminals for money laundering.”

In the latest update, Folmann stated: “With Safe Play cards, we register who plays in the shops, and we can follow the cash flows. It offers some completely new opportunities to combat both money laundering and match-fixing, when we can follow the money all the way from kiosk to match.”

“As long as there are game providers that make it possible to play anonymously, criminals will be able to fly under the radar. And at the same time, minors will still be able to play in shops. Therefore, we hope that it will become mandatory for all gaming providers that sell sports betting to introduce a gaming ID,” he concluded.