Norwegian Government Amends Act to Block Unlicensed Websites
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The Norwegian government has announced that it has introduced a law that will block unlicensed online gambling websites from operating in the Norwegian jurisdiction.
This change has come after 2 years of consultation on the structure of the gambling sector in Norway, and the Norwegian government proposed and passed this measure last week.
The legislation is an amendment to the current Gambling Act and now blocks the DNS (domain name system) of live casinos and gambling websites without licenses from being accessible to bettors in Norway.
The Norway Gambling Authority (NGA), the gaming regulator for the region, has been calling for this change in legislation and has planned for its implementation in 2024. The speed of the change in legislation now means the NGA can bring in this change forward.
We do this primarily to prevent and limit gambling problems and to look after vulnerable players and their relatives. If the foreign gambling companies had followed Norwegian law, this would not have been imposed on the internet providers. Therefore, we have to regulate this by targeting actors over whom we have jurisdiction.
Norway’s State Gambling Monopoly
Norway operates a state monopoly of its gambling markets, operating a state lottery, an online casino offering called Norsk Tipping and a state-sponsored sportsbook called Norsk Rikstotto.
The move from the Norwegian government to block unlicensed websites can be seen as a way to protect the state gambling monopoly in the jurisdiction.
Earlier this year, Norway produced a report on the future of the gaming framework in the country and looked at alternative models to the state-controlled gambling structure.
Related: EGBA Calls for End to Norway's Online Gambling Monopoly
NGA Challenges 9 Banks Gambling Activities
The NGA is targeting the activities of illegal gambling operations in the Norwegian jurisdiction.
Recently, it carried out an audit of nine banks and stated that banks are prohibited from processing accounts regarding deposits and transfers of funds associated with illegal online gaming operators in Norway.
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