Norway is one of those countries which is especially strict with its regulations in the gambling industry. While gambling online is still legal in Norway, the regulations make gambling almost impossible. Besides the strict regulations, the monopoly of the industry does not let many online casino operators be present in the market, and thus, the online casino players, are having a hard time choosing the right one.

With the global pandemic going on, the number of active casino players is increasing. This is due to the fact that land-based casinos are closed almost all over the world, and the only possible option for gambling is online. This is why all of the players have turned their backs to the brick and mortar gambling and instead are actively placing their deposits online.

While the pandemic might have definitely done good for online gambling, it definitely did not affect the online players positively. According to some research and statements, published by different affiliate websites, the number of problem gamblers has increased drastically, making officials consider their limitations and perhaps implement some new initiatives to prevent the problem of gambling.

Norway is just among those countries that decided to change and restrict its approach even more to the gambling industry. Norway’s online gambling monopoly is imposing new holiday spending limits. The limits have been increased recently as well, though in the first half of December the limits have been increased even more. On the other hand, PartyPoker plans to make this Christmas the worst ever possible.

Norsk Tipping was the first to announce the new regulations. The operator mentioned that it was reducing the mostly loss limits due to the higher risk of addiction by 25% to NOK7,500. The maximum daily loss limits on these games will be down to only NOK2K. Not only the online casinos made the announcements, but every other affiliate and third party representatives are also encouraged to deliver this news to the customers. The Gratis Spinn turned out to be quick on the action and made an almost instant announcement regarding the upcoming changes for the Norwegian customers.

The limits of the products

The products like KongKasino, eFlax, Bingoria, and Yezz will also be subjected to an extended time out period after one hour of continuous play. The previous 90second delay will now last for 15 minutes, which is a very big change. The company is also removing the “popular” tag from its most popular casino games, in order to attract less attention from the customers. The tags, as well as promotional messages, will be limited to the players aged from 18 to 25.

The pre-selected stakes on certain products are being set as low as practically advisable and Norsk Tipping warned that it is not ruling out a further “downward adjustment” of maximum betting stakes on certain casino products. The betting was limited for a long period of time, as every sports activity was canceled or postponed because of the pandemic and now, the betting limits are even more discouraging to the punters.

According to the Norsk Tipping, the limits have been very effective and efficient in fighting the problematic gambling with the online casino players. Though now unlike every other December, which is supposed to be the most lucrative month of the year, December is very much limited and no high hopes are placed on the operations. Though because of the doubled flow of the players, both because of the pandemic in December month, the accountability measures shall be in place before the end of January.

Asen Havnelid the CEO of Norsk Tipping said that the company will use its Playscan risk-analysis tool to monitor and control the measures with the intended effect. The tool is capable of controlling if the measure is in place and what kind of consequences they may bring. Also, according to the results of the data collected from December to January, the company will decide further actions regarding the new initiative, whether to continue or not.

Norwegian players facing new challenges

Meanwhile, Norwegian poker players reported receiving emails from PartyPoker this week informing them that the sites will prohibit further deposits. The new regulation was taken in place from the 17th of December. Norwegian players will lose the ability to make any kind of deposits, though they will be able to require the withdrawal of their winnings from the account past the 17th.

This is not the first case, players confessing on the PlayPoker emails. The hundreds of players from different countries received similar emails, stating that they will be limited to use PokerPlay services. This is especially discouraging for the players outside of the US, where no changes have been noticed. The company made a statement regarding their intentions, saying that PokerPlay, which is the child company of GVC Holdings, is planning to limit its operations in every other market, rather than the US, in order to improve the reputation and operate solely in the regulated country.