Denmark’s gambling regulator Spillemyndigheden has gained approval from the City Court to block a record amount of illegal gambling websites.

The authority had instructed the websites to cease operations and later took the case to court.

Early in March, the City Court started proceedings on the case, and has now agreed to uphold the Gaming Authority’s case. The Court said it needed to be certain people were actually using these sites.

The authority was able to provide screenshots from the websites which proved active gambling was taking place without a Danish permit.

The blocking of sites has now commenced and the ISPs have decided to appeal the decision to the district court.

The blocking of 55 websites will be the highest number the authority has ever seen, since it began removing websites in 2012.

Director of the Danish Gambling Authority, Anders Dorph, said: “The record-high number clearly shows there is a need for a targeted effort, and we will therefore maintain this increased focus in the future.

“One of our most important tasks is to protect players from illegal gambling. At the same time, we must ensure  the providers who are licensed to offer games in Denmark can run their business under orderly conditions."

Over the years, the authority has blocked 90 sites, with the new case raising the total to 145. The Danish Gaming Authority has said blocking these sites is crucial in ensuring a fair and legal gaming market in Denmark.