Norway acts against unlicenced gambling operators

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It seems a few countries are trying to put their foot down regarding gambling, both on-line and off-line, and Norway has made it’s feelings clear as it will now block financial transactions in a move to prevent it’s citizens from using unlicensed foreign gambling operators.

The new law will prohibit banks from allowing transactions between Norwegian consumers and gambling operators, irregardless of whether the consumers are located in Norway or elsewhere.

What has upset many people though is the fact that if you a foreign betting operator you cannot obtain a Norwegian gambling licence, so therefore you are classified as an unlicenced operator and there is nothing you can do about this.

Norway isn’t part of the EU but is a member of the EC, and so has to subscribe to EU principles and trade laws. One of these is the freedom to offer services, though in this case Norway has decided to ignore the same rules they are signed up to protect. They have stated they are acting to prevent crime, fraud and gambling addiction, although there is no firm evidence that blocking licenced EU operators achieves this.

The opposite view is that, by reducing the legal options available to Norwegian players, some will be pushed towards unlicenced and illegal gambling operators, especially as the legal options are quite limited in terms of value and quality. There are currently 2 state-operators in Norway, Rikstoto and Norsk Tipping, which are exempt from the transaction ban, though many consider them to be inferior to outside operators.

Many people in the industry believe that this move is a poorly veiled attempt to boost the profits and status of the national monopolies, rather than looking after the consumer. This is a potential blow to players who will now be deprived of a free choice, but it will be interesting to see how effective this new law actually is.

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