Denmark blocks Polymarket and 97 other sites in unlicensed gambling sweep

Players in Denmark are now being stopped at the ISP level from reaching a long list of unlicensed gambling sites, including prediction market platform polymarket.com. Instead of loading, the blocked domains redirect users on Danish telecoms networks to a notice warning that they are trying to enter an illegal site.

The Danish Ministry of Taxation and Economic Growth confirmed on 19 August 2026 that Spillemyndigheden has blocked 98 domains through DNS blocking. The enforcement followed a court process at the Frederiksberg court: the court approved the blocks on 8 July 2026, telecoms operators enforced them on 6 August, and the ministry made the case public on 19 August along with the full list of domains.

The ministry’s statement underlined that offering gambling in Denmark, or targeting the Danish market, without a Spillemyndigheden licence is illegal. It also spelled out what counts as “targeting” Denmark: if a site includes Danish language, Danish currency, payment cards that only work in Denmark, Danish customer service, a connection via Steam, or a product mix aimed at Danish players (the example given was betting on lower national leagues), it can be treated as directed at Danish consumers.

While the list includes polymarket.com, most of the 98 entries are offshore casino and sportsbook brands operating multiple mirror domains. The ministry’s published list includes eight Leon domains, six Ice Casino domains, and five Everygame domains (covering its casino, sports, and live sub-domains). Also named are 22Bet country domains for Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda, plus brands such as Cbet, Instant Casino, iWild Casino, Drip Casino, Mr Bet, RocketPlay, SkyCrown, Velobet, and Napoleon Casino’s Belgian domain.

Taxation Minister Rasmus Stoklund Engel-Schmidt framed the move as a matter of applying Danish rules to any operator making money from Danish consumers, saying that participation in the market requires playing by Denmark’s rules. He was particularly critical of prediction markets, singling out Polymarket and calling betting on war and death a business model built on human tragedy, adding that “a human life is not a betting slip.”

Denmark’s action lands in the middle of a wider European enforcement push that is increasingly treating event contracts as unlicensed betting. France’s Autorité Nationale des Jeux ordered internet providers to block polymarket.com on 16 July 2026, and six days later Polymarket said it would challenge that order in French courts. In Denmark, Polymarket told Danish public broadcaster DR that it is disappointed with the decision and intends to test it through legal process, while also stating it holds no position in any market and does not profit from any outcome.

For Denmark’s regulator, this is part of a regular court-based blocking strategy: Spillemyndigheden has taken blocking cases to court twice a year since 2024, and it said it blocked 334 sites through the courts in 2025 as part of its work against illegal gambling.