Danske Spil full year revenue up 10%
Danske Spil’s full year profit after tax in the Danske Spil Group was DKK 1,627 million. This is an improvement of more than 10% in relation to the result after tax in 2021 of DKK 1,460 million.
We are very satisfied with that. Especially in light of the fact that in 2021 we have strengthened our responsibility profile, that the gambling tax to the state has been raised from 20 per cent. to 28 per cent. Danish License Games, and that covid-19 i.e. meant that we again had to close our physical slot machines for large parts of the year.
The result shows that the Danes have chosen the Danske Spil for 2021. In total, approx. 1.9 million become Danes in 2021 with one or more products from Danske Spil. Lottery games and scratch games are still the most popular, and Danske Lotteri Spil had 1.6 million in 2021. players who, among other things, had the opportunity to scratch 53 new scratch games. A great many followed the major sporting events that, after cancellations and postponements in 2020, could finally take place in 2021.
This applied in particular to the European Championship in football and the Olympics, which left a mark on the entire summer of 2021. During the European Championship in football alone, Danske Spil had more than 200,000 active players on Oddset. The final round made the Danes forget about covid-19 for a while, and the tragic incident in the match between Denmark and Finland and the subsequent good results united the nation. Danske Spil was with us all the way. Both with a large and wide range of Danish games and with our sponsorship of the national team.
In the same way, Danske Licens Spil covered the Olympics closely and with a clear Danish angle in the game offer, and in 2021 Danske Licens Spil entered into a new sponsorship with Sport One to even more directly support sports in Denmark through DIF. Overall, the Danish License Games ended, which, among other things, is responsible for sports and casino games, with a profit after tax of DKK 163 million. DKK
It was also a very good year for the lottery and scratch games. Danske Lotteri Spil’s customers played in 2021 with a total of approx. 2.6 billion DKK, which was paid out in prize money. The year ended with a record high result after tax of DKK 1,478 million. It is a result of innovation and new products, successful sales and effective marketing, digitization and a strengthening of the subscription business, where in 2021 Danske Lotteri Spil received a total of approx. 7,500 new customers. It is good for Danske Spil, and
it is good for society, because the entire profit from Danske Lotteri Spil goes to sports, culture and association life in Denmark via the distribution funds.
2021 was also the year when a broad majority in the Folketing agreed to initiate a process for merging the Class Lottery with Danske Spil. The state owns 80 per cent. of Danske Spil and 100 per cent. of the Class Lottery. Therefore, we at Danske Spil agree that it is obvious to try to create even greater value for customers, for society and for the owners by joining forces.
The class lottery is Denmark’s oldest lottery with many loyal and satisfied customers. If the merger is finally decided politically, we will of course make every effort to continue and renew the Class Lottery in respect of the lottery’s traditions and history.
Finally, in 2021 we have again increased our focus on responsibility and on creating the most possible value for Danish society. We have an attitude towards entertainment. We stand for responsible entertainment that creates dreams and experiences.
Therefore, in all parts of Danske Spil, we also work purposefully to strengthen responsible gambling, so that the entertainment does not end in problematic gambling behavior or gambling addiction. It is, among other things, the background to the fact that we have introduced Safe Gaming, so that you cannot play anonymously on our sports games, and to the fact that in 2021 we made almost 1,500 care calls to customers with worrying gambling behaviour.
The work on responsible gaming will continue in 2022. We insist that responsibility and a healthy business go hand in hand. We want happy and satisfied customers with healthy gambling behavior who experience Danske Spil as transparent, fair, orderly and responsible.
Finally, a big thank you must go to all the stakeholders and partners who are the prerequisite for us to develop, create results and give back to the community. And a very special thank you to Danske Spil’s employees, with whom I am proud to play on a team. Said Nikolas Lyhne-Knudsen, Administrator.