Denmark installs fake children's casinos in three cities to warn about gaming in video games

The Danish Gaming Authority (Spillemyndigheden) has launched an original awareness campaign that simulates the opening of casinos for children in three of the country's main cities, with the aim of drawing attention to the gambling-like elements that can be found in certain video games.

Under the name "Casino Kids", the regulator has decorated three commercial facades in Copenhagen, Aarhus and Odense to appear to announce the upcoming opening of gambling establishments aimed at minors.

The storefronts use provocative messages such as "Play with all your payout" and feature an advertising image reminiscent of the promotion of a conventional casino.

In reality, there is no children's play establishment behind these facades. It is an awareness-raising intervention designed to provoke a reaction from passers-by and to ask parents a question: do they pay enough attention to the game mechanisms that their children encounter in video games?

The initiative is part of the "A casino in the children's room" campaign, launched on October 26 by Spillemyndigheden.

The regulator considers that the debate on video games tends to focus on the time that minors spend in front of screens, while reward systems, purchases of virtual content and other mechanisms that may have similarities to gambling receive less attention.

Among these elements are loot boxes, which offer virtual content with a random result, and certain formulas for the use or exchange of digital objects.

Anders Dorph, director of the Danish Gaming Authority, has pointed out that conversations about children and digital media often focus on screen time, when it is also important to be interested in the content of games and the mechanisms with which children interact.

The campaign also includes a video in which a children's room is progressively transformed into a casino, a visual representation that seeks to show how certain elements of gambling can be integrated into digital entertainment experiences.

The audiovisual material will be disseminated through Meta, YouTube, TV2 Play and the educational portal Folkeskolen.dk.

The intervened shop windows are located in Bruuns Galleri, in Aarhus; Vestergade, in Odense; and Købmagergade, in Copenhagen.

The authority also directs parents and educators to its information platform StyrPåSpillet, where it offers recommendations to identify gambling-related mechanisms, understand its potential risks and encourage family dialogue.