Simon’s Guide to Gambling in Greenland
Gambling and Online Gambling in Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Danish Realm. The country is located between the Arctic and the Atlantic Ocean, and east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is the world’s largest island but its 56,000 population make it the least densely populated country in the world. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for more than a millennium.
Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but enjoys almost total autonomy (self rule since 2009). The official language of Greenland is Greenlandic.
Gambling is legal and regulated in Greenland according the Danish Gambling Act*, which Greenland adapted, with some modifications**. Online gambling is legal as well. Online gambling is not regulated in Greenland, but gambling is supervised locally. Every entity has to acquire a local license to operate a gambling business or posess a Danish gambling license, which is also accepted. With a Danish gambling license gambling companies can operate in Greenland and online casinos licensed by Denmark can accept players from Greenland as well.
Despite gambling being legal, there aren’t any brick-and-mortar casinos operating in Greenland at the moment. The reasons behind this is that card games and dice games were outlawed in Greenland, and gambling represents a big source of income for private local entrepreneurs and local municipalities, who are protective of their business interests. Card games (illegally) and bingo games (legally) are often organized by local groups, and even smaller bars have slot machines (the local municipalities and the police can license certain forms of gambling, and certain forms do not require a license at all, see below), the Danish lottery of Dankse Spil is also popular. Actually, problem gambling is on the rise in Greenland, a country already infamous for its high rate of alcoholism and suicides.**** Therefore, stricter gambling laws can be expected in the future
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Sources:
*The Government of Denmark: The Gambling Act
**Bekendtgørelse af lov for Grønland om visse spil – 2016 (Danish)
***Spillemyndigheden: Online Casinos
****Gambling and Public Health in Greenland
Summary:
- Casino gambling in Greenland
- Bingo in Greenland
- Poker in Greenland
- Sports betting in Greenland
- Lottery in Greenland
- Bitcoin gambling in Greenland
Casino gambling in Greenland
Online casino gambling in Greenland: not regulated, Danish licenses are accepted
Gambling is legal and regulated in Greenland, it is regulated locally, but license from the Danish Gambling Authority are accepted as well. However, there aren’t any land-based casinos operating in Greenland right now.
Card games and dice games are illegal in Greenland, unlike in Denmark. Slot machines can be found in bars in Greenland (license granted by the local municipality).
Online gambling is legal but not regulated, therefore Greenlandic players can play in online casinos, which accept them. Danish online gambling licenses are accepted and online casinos licensed in Denmark can accept players from Greenland as well.
The following online casinos accept players from Greenland:
BGO casino – accepting players from Greenland
32 Red casino – accepting players from Greenland
Betsson online casino – accepting players from Greenland
Betsafe online casino – accepting players from Greenland
Casino Euro – accepting players from Greenland
Black lotus casino – accepting players from Greenland
Lotus Asia casino – accepting players from Greenland
GT Bets accepts players from Greenland- accepting Bitcoins as well
Bingo in Greenland
Online bingo in Greenland: not regulated, Danish licenses are accepted
Bingo and online bingo are legal in Greenland. Bingo is very popular in Greenland, there is radio bingo and bingo games are often organized in community halls. In Denmark they are a monopoly of Danske Spil, which is a state-owned company. Danske Spil offers a wide variety of games besides bingo, like lotteries, sports betting, blackjack, and poker among others. But in Greenland bingo is organized locally.
Public bingo games must acquire a license from the police.
Online bingo is legal in Greenland, but it is not regulated. Websites licensed in Denmark can accept players from Greenland. Players from Greenland can play bingo online on websites, which accept their registration.
The following bingo websites accept players from Greenland:
BGO bingo – accepting players from Greenland
Betsson Bingo – accepting registrations from Greenland
32 Red Bingo – accepting registrations from Greenland
Poker in Greenland
Online poker in Greenland: not regulated
Poker is illegal in Greenland. Online poker is not regulated. Players can currently freely access online poker websites, which accept their registration.
The following online poker sites accept players from Greenland:
Betsson online Poker – accepting players from Greenland
Betsafe online Poker – accepting players from Greenland
32 Red online Poker – accepting players from Greenland
Sports betting in Greenland
Online sports betting in Greenland: not regulated, Danish licenses are accepted
Betting on sports is legal in Greenland, just like in Denmark. However, sports betting does not appear to be very popular in Greenland. Online sports betting is not regulated and players from Greenland are free to access online bookmakers, which accept their registration.
The following online sportsbooks accept registrations from Greenland:
Betsson online sportsbook – accepting registrations from Greenland
Betsafe online bookmaker – accepting registrations from Greenland
32 Red sport online sportsbook – accepting players from Greenland
GT Bets online bookmaker – accepts registrations from Greenland, also accepts Bitcoin
Lottery in Greenland
Online lottery in Greenland: not regulated, Danish licenses are accepted
Arguably, the lottery is the most common form of gambling in Greenland. The lottery is a legal in Denmark, and the Danish national lottery dominates in Greenland as well. In Denmark, the lottery is a state monopoly. Currently, there are 4 organizations and state-controlled companies, which are eligible to draw lotteries and sell lottery tickets and associated products, the Danske Lotteri Spil A/S, the Det Danske Klasslotteri A/S, the Almindeligt Dansk Vare- og Industrilotteri (the Goods Lottery), and the Landbrugslotteriet, these are all available for players in Greenland, but in Greenland only Danske Spil is present. Many of these gambling companies operate online lotteries as well. Aside from these, only non-profit associations, institutions, organisations, committees and local municipalities can apply for a licence to sell lottery products in Greenland, and a portion of the revenue must fund non-profit projects.*
The following websites let people from Greenland purchase lottery tickets online:
Coming soon!
Bitcoin gambling in Greenland
Bitcoin gambling in Greenland: not regulated, Danish licenses are accepted
Bitcoin gambling is a form of online gambling. Denmark’s Financial Supervisory Authority acknowledged the use of Bitcoin back in 2013 but does not specifically regulate it, therefore the gambling laws of Greenland (,which are based on Denmark’s gambling laws) do not regulate it as well. There aren’t any specific laws regarding Bitcoin gambling or Bitcoin in Greenland.
The following Bitcoin casinos accept players from Greenland:
GT Bets accepts players from Greenland, and also accepts Bitcoin
If you have questions or any feedback don’t hesitate to drop a comment below. Please let me know in the comments section if you think we might have gotten something wrong or if you have additional information, clarification about the legal status of online gambling in this country.
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This page is part of Simon’s List – Legal Status of Online Gambling – a definitive guide to the legal status of all forms of online gambling activities in every country around the world.
Last updated: 2016-07-11
