Norway’s Online Casino Gaming Situation

There is a common perception that Scandinavian people, including Norwegians, have a cold and quiet temperament. However, this is only a stereotype. They are active gamblers. Scandinavian mythology often describes scenes of the ancient Vikings playing dice, and one legend tells a remarkable story about the island of Hissinger coming under Norwegian rule. However, despite such legends, the country has not offered a land-based casino. Therefore, this article will focus on online Norsk casinos and their features.

History of Norway casino online

In Norway, gambling is regulated by three legislative acts: the Gaming Scheme Act, the Lottery Act, and the Totalizator Act. Since the 1990s, there are only two licensed websites in Norway legally allowed to offer gambling: 

CompanyScope of operationsRegulator
Norsk Tipping●       Traditional and digital lotteries●       Roulette, blackjack, craps, and card games at KongKasino●       Sports betting●       Instant lotteries (FLAX)●       BingoThe Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture
Norsk RiskotoHorse racing onlyMinistry of Agriculture and Food

The first Norway casino, established by Norsk Tipping, appeared in 2014 and is called Kong Kasino. The purpose of its creation was motivated by the authorities’ attempt to stop the mass outflow of users to illegal casinos, which regulators could not manage to block. The advantage of Kong Kasino is that there is no tax on winnings. The online casino Norwegian offers players 157 gambling activities, including betting on sporting events. The rules for gambling activities in Norway vary from their foreign counterparts. There is a restriction on the opening hours of the site.

There are restrictions on how much you can spend:

●       the maximum monthly limit is 20,000NOK;

●       for instant lotteries online, the restriction is 10,000NOK per month or 400NOK per day;

●       the monthly limit for Multix games is 2,700NOK, and for Bingoria games – 4,400NOK. 

However, we would like to point out that there are now more than a hundred international sites that accept players from Norway. They have a Norwegian interface and take Norwegian kroner as currency for payment. These casinos offer attractive terms and conditions as well as special bonuses. You can check their reliability by consulting expert reviews. 

New companies operating in an honest manner have a long-term online focus, so they do their best to meet customers’ needs. For many international companies, Norway represents a promising market. Therefore, frequently the toppcasinonorge will target this segment of players. For this reason, all the privileges available to newcomers should be used to get the maximum enjoyment out of the game.

European operators struggle

In 2019, operators from the EU and the European Economic Community established the Norwegian Industry Association for Online Gambling (NBO) to lobby for their own interests in the Norwegian gambling market. The members included Betsson, ComeOnband, Cherry AB, Gaming Innovation Group (GiG), and Kindred Group. Carl Fredrik Stenström, former commercial director of Rikstoto, headed the organization. Rolf Sims, Kindred’s public relations manager, has also joined the NBO leadership. He is an ex-member of the Ministry of Culture and participated in the creation of Norway’s gambling policy.

The current Norwegian online gambling market

The Norwegian gambling market has been drawing a lot of attention from the European and global community over the last two years. And not surprisingly, with tensions running high between the local regulator, the European Gambling Association, international operators, and other industry players.

What is the solution to this situation?

Although there are some gambling restrictions in Norway, online casinos based in other countries have access to the Norwegian market and admit players from this Scandinavian state. It is essential that the Norwegian Gambling Commission states that Norwegian players are not prohibited from playing on sites operated by foreign operators. The advantage of playing at a private online casino is that it is not restricted by Norwegian taxes and other gambling laws.

Conclusion

At a time when the national government is justifying its strict legislation by fighting gambling addiction, players are finding new ways to bypass it, with foreign online casinos acting as the main method. There may be amendments to Norwegian regulations, but as with the adoption of different laws, this could take quite a long time.