Norway warns six Malta-based gambling companies

Norway has warned six Malta-based online gambling companies for illegally targeting Norwegian players. According to news reports, the Norwegian government also blocked the transactions of these companies. As per the existing law in Norway, only two state-run companies – Norsk Tipping, which operates sports betting and casino games, and Norsk Rikstoto, which provides race betting services – can provide gambling services in the country.

But it is known truth that gambling websites located and licensed in other countries are offering their services in the country. Norwegian legislators are trying to remove such unlicensed operations for years, but their efforts have seen almost no success.

The Norwegian Gaming Authority (Lotteri-og stiftelsestilsynet) has ordered local banks to block all payments to and from accounts that have been discovered to be used for processing gambling-related transactions.

It has also emerged that the regulator sent last November warning letters to four Malta-based gambling companies, urging them to stop targeting Norwegian players. The four companies were Betsson Group, Co-Gaming Ltd. (a subsidiary of Swedish gambling group Cherry AB), L&L Europe Players Ltd, and Gaming Innovation Group. Kindred Group and Lucky Dino Gaming Ltd. received similar warning letters earlier this month.

A spokesperson for the Gaming Authority said that all six operators were found to have been marketing their operations and servicing Norwegian customers without being permitted to do so. The spokesperson also pointed out that the letters were sent both to the companies and the Malta Gaming Authority, from which all six operators hold licenses for the provision of online gambling services.