Danish man reveals struggle with online gambling addiction amid rise of illegal betting sites

Andreas Grønbech Christensen began gambling online at the age of 16 through his brother, but it was not until he turned 18 and created his own account that his problems escalated. He shared how he cleverly convinced his bank to release his child savings, which he was not supposed to access until age 21. Within a month, all the money was gone.

Realizing he had a problem, he joined Rofus, the Danish Gambling Authority’s Register of Voluntarily Excluded Players, hoping to curb his gambling. However, he soon discovered that he could still access foreign casinos despite his self-exclusion. “It was just a simple Google search, and I was back at it,” he confessed, pointing out the ease with which illegal betting sites could be found online.

Research revealed numerous sites promoting access to unlicensed gambling, with headlines like “Play without MitID and circumvent Rofus” and “Top 10 casinos without Rofus.” Despite it being illegal to direct individuals to these sites, authorities lack the legal basis to shut them down.

From ages 18 to 23, Christensen was trapped in a cycle of gambling addiction that led to significant financial losses. “I always paid my bills, and then it was fair game,” he said. Now in treatment and five months sober, he believes that if illegal betting sites hadn’t been so easy to find, his situation might have been different.

Currently, about 500,000 Danes are facing some degree of gambling addiction, with alarming numbers among young individuals aged 12-17 mirroring adult addiction rates. Concern persists among lawmakers regarding the existence of these illegal sites.