It seems as though online poker, or more specifically online gambling as a whole, is being brought up in discussions around the world. The government of Norway, in a bid to protect its own Norsk Tipping gambling monopoly, recently released details of certain gambling restrictions that it aims to bring into place by 7 May.
It was earlier on this week that the Labour Party, Christian Peoples, Centrist and Socialist Left all made the announcement that they had put together a sort of combined mandate. This demands that the following restrictions be brought into effect by the aforementioned date:
- Setup and implementation of strict IP blocking when it comes to online gambling operators located offshore
- Giving the allowance to Lotteri og Stiftelsestilsynet (the regulatory body of Norway), to monitor all banking transactions relating to foreign operators.
- Incorporating additional restrictions on advertising that targets digital inventories of media owners that promote any gambling sites without a licence.
- Increasing the power of Lotteri og Stiftelsestilsynet so that the body is able to impose fines for violations against the Norwegian gambling act and financial codes.
The government of Norway has stated that these rules will be brought into effect as a method of protecting any problem gamblers within the country.
Norway’s Current Standing and History with Gambling
The previously spoken of Norsk Tipping is Norway’s state-owned gambling operator. From this platform, gamblers are able to access lotteries, sports betting options and a selection of slot games. Some of the money that is made through this website by the state goes towards donations for charities.
Norsk Tipping, however, does not provide online poker to players, so with the introduction of the new restrictions on May 7, it essentially equates to Norwegian gamers not being able to legally play online poker within the country. Even though this is the case (and online poker hasn’t been specifically legal in the country for multiple years now, with this rule not having such impact on offshore platforms), Norway has managed to bring forth some high-profile poker players. For example, Johnny “bad_ip” Lodden and Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad both reside in the country.
As of the moment, gambling in Norway is considered to be illegal on a grand scale. With the exception of the Norsk Tipping operation and Norsk Rikstoto options – both of which are state-owned – all other forms of gambling have been marked as illegal in the country. The government has been working towards blocking all foreign companies from operating within Norway, with a law in 2010 being passed that requires all banks in the country to deny customers the possibility of using their credit and debit cards in both land and online casinos around the world. The gambling laws in Norway have been in effect for multiple years now, with the 1927 Totalisator Act, the 1992 Gaming Act and the 1995 Lottery Act taking centre-stage as governing laws.
