Gambling in Norway: Monopoly in theory, free market in practice

When it comes to gambling legislation, some European countries give their citizens maximum freedom and others impose maximum restrictions. One country, Norway, fits both descriptions. Despite the best efforts of the Norwegian government to monopolise gambling in recent years, its citizens are free to play online bingo or use online casinos without fear of punishment.

In Theory, Norway has Gambling Monopoly

Under Norwegian law, only state-owned Norsk Tipping and industry-run Norsk Rikstoto are allowed to offer gambling services. Commercial operators may apply for permission to offer restricted gambling activities, but aren’t eligible for a full gaming licence. Under the Norwegian government’s heavily restrictive rules, licenced gaming operators must allocate 35% of profits to Norsk Tipping and 30% to good causes.

Norway has flirted with the idea of blocking unlicensed gambling sites but has never gone through with it. Norway’s tough stance on competition has even brought it unwanted attention from the European Free Trade Association, of which Norway is a member. At one stage, the EFTA signalled it would challenge Norway if it imposed restrictions on where its citizens could gamble. Critics of Norway’s stance have pointed out that its position has more to do with protecting revenues than out of actual concern for Norwegian punters.

Norwegians Free to Choose Gambling Operator in Practice

The good news for Norwegian citizens is that the government has never followed through with its threats to block IP addresses of online gambling sites. What’s more, the Lottery Act, the Gaming Scheme Act, and the Totalisor Act don’t actually prohibit Norwegian citizens from participating in unlicensed gambling activities. Norwegians may use online bingos or online casinos from any service provider they like – and in fact many of them do.

It’s been estimated that there are hundreds of Norwegian-language online bingo sites and online casinos. Some of the most popular bingo platforms catering to Norwegians include MariaBingo, Unibet, and Bettson. These are all large gambling providers that operate sites in multiple languages including Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, and Estonian. All these sites let Norwegian citizens cash in and cash out using Norwegian krone. All of them have steps in place to ensure their users gamble responsibly. Looking at this review about MariaBingo will give more in detail information about the benefits as well as cons for Scandinavians.

Because Norway doesn’t actually have laws in place to restrict use of these services, most Norwegians log on to bingo and other gambling sites without even bothering to use a VPN.

Online Bingo Will Remain Free for Foreseeable Future

Judging by the developments of the past few years, Norwegian citizens will remain free to play online bingo anywhere they like for the foreseeable future. Norway’s economy relies heavily on North Sea oil and gas, so it’s possible the government will make another play for gambling revenues if the oil price stays low for a long time. But pressure from the EFTA and other European bodies in which Norway has membership may force the government to back off. For Norwegian online gamblers, that’s good news.