Danske Bank, Denmark’s largest bank, has warned authorities of its concerns on the gambling expenditure of “young Danish men”.

Louise Aggerstrøm, Chief Financial Analyst at Danske Bank, revealed that men between the ages of 18 and 24 are predominantly spending the most of their monthly disposable income on gambling.

Concerns were relayed in an interview with Danmarks Radio (DR), with Aggerstrøm stating that on average, men in that age group set aside around 800 Danish kroner (£93) for the pastime activity – or “about double what they spent on gambling in 2019”.

Statistically, this is 20 times more than what women in the same age bracket spend each month, which is around 40 kroner as per data from Danske Bank.

However, it is also important to note that the median monthly salary before tax was DKK 46,972 (£5.5k) in 2024, with the amount projected to increase following a similar trend across European markets. 

And while Aggerstrøm placed the 800 kroner as an average portion of 10% from the young men’s monthly consumption, deeming it “fairly large”, the economist did also point out that this is purely money coming out of accounts – with winnings left out of the statistics.

Regardless, she did caution against large expenditures, as there is a risk of developing problem gambling behaviour, which must be tracked at an individual level beyond statistical insights. 

ROFUS, the national self-exclusion scheme managed by Denmark’s Gambling Authority of Spillemyndigheden, estimates that in June 2025, the number of self-excluded men aged 18-29 reached a total of 24,689. 

This indicates that there is a good understanding among players about the support available to them if they fall victim to gambling harm.

Not only that, but general gambling spend among Danes appears to be slowing down, again as per Spillemyndigheden. The most recent data from the regulator revealed that in June, total gambling GGR dropped by 17% YoY.

Still, concerns remain about the current state of the Danish gambling market, with talks to limit advertisements being held at the highest political level.

Rasmus Stoklund, Minister of Taxation, was appointed in August, 2024. Since then, he has been actively reviewing the idea of imposing a stricter advertisement regime. 

However, given the declining rates of licensed GGR, such a decision would likely need to be advised by a thorough investigation into the prominence of the black market in Denmark. 

Danske Bank’s concerns reflect broader discussions across European markets on how best to protect young consumers aged 18 to 24 from gambling-related harm. In the Netherlands, authorities have been tasked with drafting new protections for under-24s as part of the Gambling Act reform. 

Meanwhile, in Spain, licensed operators are now required to register all activity involving under-21 customers in a federal database, as the government considers implementing a universal deposit limit for young users.

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