SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Lotteritilsynet the Norwegian Gambling Authority issued a statement to European igaming operators outlining that the authority would look to crack down on operators targeting Norwegian consumers.
The Gambling Authority had sent a formal letter to more than 20 European operators which it considered had breached Norwegian gambling policies. Operators included Malta based Mr Green and Leo Vegas, and Swedish listed sports betting operator Unibet.
Atle Hamar, Director of the Lotteritilsynet commented “The Gaming Board has recently recorded increased demand and marketing targeting Norwegian citizens by a group of online gambling companies”
“The Board has stated that these companies comply in accordance with Norwegian gambling laws and practices
Norway is considered the most lucrative European igaming market, in terms of gaming revenues generated per player. At present Norway does not have a policy framework with regards to remote gambling, however Norwegian federal laws prohibit the advertisement of gambling products by unlicensed betting and gaming operators.
Lotteritilsynet stated that it if the targeting of consumers continued to happen, it may be forced to block IP access from Norwegian internet service providers, and potentially further block regional payment/banking processes to remote gambling operators.
In May of 2014, the Norwegian government had filed a complaint against numerous Swedish TV broadcasters regarding the coverage of unlicensed gambling operators being promoted to Norwegian viewers through cross border broadcasts.
