By Kevin Felix | January 13, 2010

After extraordinary success with its new Italian poker platform, PartyPoker.it, PartyPoker is trying to replicate that success in Denmark. PartyGaming recently announced it will be partnering with Danish gaming group Danske Spil.

Those familiar with the online gaming market in Europe might know that Denmark is notoriously strict when it comes to gambling, especially regarding taxation. The 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate can attest to that fact, as a large chunk of his $8.5 million prize went to the Danish government.

Danske Spil is the government-controlled online gambling institution in Denmark and currently runs a popular and successful online site that offers a lottery, numbers games and other games. However, the group felt they needed to expand the venture into casino games like slot machines as well as online poker and went on a lengthy search for an experienced business partner to join forces with them. In the end, Danske Spil settled on PartyGaming and the two groups signed a five-year contract.  The exact details of the deal will be ironed out in the coming weeks.

PartyGaming Chief Executive Jim Ryan expressed his enthusiasm over the landmark partnership in an official press release from the gaming company: “Danske Spil is widely recognized as one of Europe’s leading gambling businesses, one that is pre-eminent in the Danish market. We are delighted that Danske Spil has recognized our expertise and high standards of business practice and we look forward to building a significant and profitable enterprise as soon as the newly regulated Danish online gaming market opens.”

Danske Spil is branching out its operations as a result of a recent piece of legislation that is relaxing the strict regulations on online gambling. The new laws, set to be implemented in 2011, allow for more competition in Denmark and Danske Spil wants to ensure its domination in the Danish online gaming marketplace is secure. Currently there are only a limited number of sites doing business in the country, including Hollywood Poker, which have tax-exempt status in the country.

Danske Spil is equally excited about its new partnership. The company’s CEO H.C. Madsen had nothing but positive things to say about the company’s new business-to-business partner. “With some of the world’s leading products in online poker and casino as well as a large international customer base, PartyGaming is definitely a strong business partner for Danske Spil”, commented Madsen. “Combining this with Danske Spil’s unique and strong position in the Danish market with more than 500,000 Danish online customers will guarantee that together we will deliver a highly attractive customer experience to players in Denmark.”

The deal with Danske Spil is yet another coup for PartyGaming, who has racked up a host of high profile business-to-business deals in the past year. If the success of its similar partnership with Intralot on their Italian poker room is any indication, the new deal with Danske Spil has the potential to be yet another profitable poker operation in a country with stringent online gaming laws.

Related posts:

1. Danish gaming monopoly Danske Spil faces crossfire
   Survival seems increasingly unlikely for Danish gaming monopoly Danske Spil: it is under attack by the European Commission, by Danish...
2. Danish gaming monopoly starts to crumble
   Charlie McCreevy must be feeling proud – after the European Commission issued a reasoned opinion chastising Denmark for its gaming...
3. Denmark plans to go ahead with own UIGEA
   In spite of the disapproval of the European Commission, the Danish Government may be getting ready to pass a UIGEA-like...
4. Danish gambling monopoly to face EU court
   Denmark, along with other Scandinavian countries - including Norway and Sweden - has a state gambling monopoly that is at odds with...
5. Party Poker and Intralot Form Italian Partnership
   In the wake of numerous announcements from PartyGaming, including their non-prosecution agreement with the US Attorney’s Office and the release...