Martin Guldborg was one of Denmark's bigger YouTubers for younger viewers — 251,000 subscribers on YouTube, 47,000 followers on Instagram. Two of his videos crossed the line the Marketing Practices Act draws around children. In one, he and a guest tasted 100 different alcoholic drinks as shots over an hour and twenty minutes; he got drunk and vomited on camera, and the video drew close to 750,000 views. In the other, he tasted 52 energy drinks. Both were freely accessible to viewers under 18.
The Consumer Ombudsman reported him to the police, and on 15 June 2026 the Esbjerg city court fined him 120,000 kroner (case 98-1703/2025). The court found he had indirectly encouraged children and young people to dangerous behaviour, and had shown and mentioned alcohol and energy drinks in content directed at under-18s — which Danish law simply prohibits. The merch links under the videos ('Find mit HELT NYE Merchandise her') were hidden advertising too: with a young audience, commercial content must be explicitly labelled 'reklame'. A '16+' disclaimer at the start changed nothing.
Guldborg had pushed back when the Ombudsman first intervened in 2023: the video was marked 16+, he said, and he was not responsible if children watched anyway. In court he admitted the facts. Consumer Ombudsman Torben Jensen called drinking 100 shots in a video freely available to under-18s 'both illegal and irresponsible': creators whose audience is minors have a duty to keep the content safe.
The court fined him DKK 120,000 for encouraging children to drink 100 shots and 52 energy drinks, plus hidden merch ads.
A '16+' label is not a shield: the court found the videos reached children and indirectly encouraged them to copy drinking large amounts of alcohol.
Alcohol and energy drinks may not appear at all in content directed at under-18s — the Danish ban is total, whether or not the video looks like an ad.
'Find mit Merchandise her' is hidden advertising: with a young audience, commercial intent must be labelled explicitly as 'reklame'.
When the audience is children, platform rules become law: a Danish YouTuber paid DKK 120,000 for 100 shots, 52 energy drinks and an unlabelled merch link.
Retten i Esbjerg's judgment of 15 June 2026 (case 98-1703/2025) imposed the 120,000-kroner fine after the Consumer Ombudsman's police report; Guldborg admitted the facts. The Ombudsman published the judgment as guidance: content aimed at minors must carry an explicit 'reklame' label wherever commercial intent exists, even for a creator's own merchandise.
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