Online gambling operators in Norway establish new association

The online gambling operators in Norway have formed a new association to press the government to rethink its restrictive gambling policy.

The online gambling operators Betsson, ComeOn, GiG and the Kindred Group announced the formation of the Norwegian Industry Association for Online Gambling (NBO). The NBO will be chaired by Kindred’s public affairs manager Rolf Sims, and Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm, Rikstoto former commercial director, as its secretary-general.

The new association will urge Norway’s government to abandon its monopolistic stance in favour of a liberalised regime that would allow internationally licensed online gambling operators to apply for local licenses.

Stenstrøm noted that he helped lead Rikstoto’s responsible gambling initiatives and his experience taught him that such efforts are not much use if they ignore the vast segment of the market over which the government has no control.

Stenstrøm said the regulatory regimes in Denmark and Sweden recognise that regulating “all the serious companies under one, responsible license model” is the proper way to go.