A Danish study into the gambling industry has found that 2.1 per cent of players who have gambled online in the past 12 months have knowingly done so on unlicensed websites.

The figure, collated from a study by the Danish Gambling Regulator in collaboration with Statistics Denmark, means that around 56 per cent of the total number of players on unlicensed sites have knowingly gambled on the platforms.

The regulator’s survey asked 30,070 Danes aged 15 and over about their gambling activity, with 7,367 answers collected online between November 2022 and January 2023.

Overall, 3.8 per cent of players who responded had played on unlicensed sites, knowingly or not. What’s more, 32 per cent of those who said they have knowingly gambled with unlicensed providers said they do so because they believe they get better or higher payback and winnings.

A further 32 per cent said they knowingly gamble on unlicensed sites because some offerings are not available on licensed sites.

Overall, 1.1 million Danes aged 15 and over have gambled online in the past year, with 50 per cent knowingly gaming on licensed sites.

However, 15 per cent of people aged between 15 and 17 – around 32,000 people – have gambled online in the past month despite 18 being the legal gambling age in Denmark.