New Gambling Laws and Enforcement Tools in Norway: Another Doomed Monopolization Attempt?

Article by : Helen Jul 22, 2020

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Updated: Aug 11, 2022

The overall tendency to the free gambling market as the most progressive and the only viable one doesn’t mean squat to Norway. The country has long been known for its tight grip on games of chance and skill, and it seems like it will continue its restrictive policy.

On the one hand, the demand for gambling among the younger generation is steadily rising; on the other hand, the rate of problem gambling is soaring as well: a whopping 62% increase in the number of problem gamblers in 2020 puts the effectiveness of the current gambling regime into question. Solution? There’s a monopolistic one, and hardly will you like it.

On 29 June 2020, the Ministry of Culture submitted a proposal to unify the Lottery Act, the Totalizator Act, and the Gambling Act – that is, the three main gambling laws in Norway – under a single legislative banner. The ongoing consultations on the matter will end on September 29, and if the proposal does pass, here are some of the changes to expect:

• The Ministry of Culture & Gender Equality will take full responsibility for all gambling regulations without exceptions.
• The two existing monopolies – Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto – will get the exclusive rights to offer types of gambling that require special public control. At the same time, the Norwegian government will appoint senior executives and board members for both Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto.
• The restrictive – and, truth be told, rapacious – policy on international gambling operators will continue: licensed operators will have to allocate 65% of profits to Norsk Tipping (35%) and ‘good causes’ (30%).

And so on.

Long story short, the proposal strengthens the monopolization and gives even more power to the existing regime. Meanwhile, the question is, will these broken-record-type innovations (if they happen to happen, of course) make any difference for Norwegian punters? Chances are they won’t, and here’s why.

What is Forbidden in Theory is not Necessary Forbidden in Practice

On paper, unlicensed casino operators are blocked in the territory of the country, but in reality, Norway hasn’t gone further than flirting with the idea. Moreover, the very nature of the gambling policy of the country contradicts the vision of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which already threatened to challenge Norway if it would impose restrictions on where its citizens can gamble.

In practice, even despite the overhanging threats to ban IP addresses of online gambling websites, Norwegians are free to access the whole range of operators including international casinos – even without using a VPN – and they can even top up accounts and cash out in Norwegian kroner. Given the pressure from different European bodies and the EFTA in particular, Norwegians will likely be free in the choice of online casinos.

Even for Laggards Changes are Only a Matter of Time

As time goes by, we get more and more examples of the ineffectiveness of restricted gambling.

If gamblers are faced with restricted choices, they will simply look elsewhere to find them.

And that’s exactly why advanced countries prefer a licensing-based free market to the obsolete monopolized structure. That said, whether we like it or not, that is for Norway to decide whether to finally start applying the best world practices or continue its current prohibitive policy leading nowhere.

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