Norway gambling regulation, licensing and taxation

Gambling in Norway 

Norway is a Scandinavian country with one of the most stringent gambling laws in the world. On the territory of the state, only some areas of the gambling business are allowed, and all of them are tightly controlled by the authorities with the help of three main laws: on lotteries, on betting on a sweepstakes and on games. 

Only two companies have official permission to provide gambling entertainment: Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. However, their main activity is not casinos, but the organization of horse races, keno draws and accepting bets on sporting events. Land-based casinos in Norway have never been, are not, and are not expected to be created. 

Currently, there are about 1,200 places open all over Norway where you can play MULTIX slots. The total number of modified machines is about 2,750 pieces. To play them, you must have an account, an appropriate credit card and proof of age - at least 18 years old. 

As far as online gambling is concerned, by law there are only two official sites where Norwegians are allowed to play: 

• Norsk Riskoto website - allows you to bet on horse racing; 

• Norsk Tipping (KongKasino) - offers lotteries, sports betting, online slots, poker, keno and scratch cards. 

Despite such severe restrictions, Norway is in third place in terms of the number of gamblers in Europe. A large number of online casinos and entertainment portals around the world welcome Norwegians. 

Content Hide 

1. Features of the regulation of the gambling business in Norway 

2. Legislation governing gambling in Norway 

3. Conditions for obtaining a license in the gambling industry 

4. Online gambling in Norway 

5. Popular slot machines in Norway 

6. Norwegian developers of gambling software 

7. Prospects for the development of gambling business in Norway 

Features of the regulation of the gambling business in Norway 

Until the 20th century, there was not a single casino in Norway. All this time, most types of gambling were considered illegal. Only in 1927, the authorities adopted the bill "On sweepstakes" and for the first time created a legal precedent for the legalization of the gambling industry. 

Exactly 20 years later (in 1947), the state company Norsk Tipping was established, which at that time specialized exclusively in organizing lotteries. In 1992, after the law "On games" was passed, monopoly control over all lotteries, sports betting and other legal gambling was transferred to this company. Today, Norsk Tipping controls games through mobile apps and the web. True, in order to gain access to the content of the state monopoly, players need to go through the registration procedure and receive a Playcard game card. 

Norsk Rikstoto is a younger company in the Norwegian gambling market. It was created in 1982 to legally run the V6 sweepstakes. Since 1996, the company has acquired the legal right to hold all sweepstakes in Norway. 

The following types of gambling are allowed on the territory of the state: 

• lotteries; 

• scratch games; 

• betting on horse races; 

• IVT - interactive video terminals; 

• poker; 

• keno; 

• bingo. 

Legislation governing gambling in Norway 

The entire gambling industry in Norway is regulated by three pieces of legislation: 

• Totalisator Act of 1927; 

• Gaming Act of 1992; 

• Lottery Act of 1995. 

According to these laws, all exclusive rights to provide most types of offline and online gambling belong to the state-owned companies Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. Although there is a strictly limited right for private operators to apply for a license to operate lotteries and gambling. However, they do not have the right to claim a full license. 

Norwegian law prohibits the provision of any form of gambling entertainment without an appropriate license for them. Interestingly, the citizens themselves are not prohibited from participating in unlicensed gaming activities. That is, visiting sites by Norwegians that do not have a gambling license is not a crime. 

Persons under the age of 18 are strictly prohibited from participating in any form of gambling entertainment, except for scratch cards. 

The gambling business in Norway is controlled by four authorities: 

• Norwegian Gaming Authority - Responsible for the oversight and control of private operators. It issues and revokes licenses, certificates and permits for gambling activities, and also imposes administrative sanctions for violation of the relevant legislation; 

• Ministry of Culture - regulates the operation of legislative acts "on lotteries" and "on games". Also, this regulator may issue general instructions for gambling; 

• Ministry of Agriculture and Food - monitors the implementation of the law "on sweepstakes" and issues general regulations applicable to gambling; 

• The Lottery Committee (Lotterinemnda) is an independent administrative body appointed by the Ministry of Culture. It is the appellate instance for reviewing administrative decisions under the Lottery Law. 

Conditions for obtaining a license in the gambling industry 

Almost the entire gambling industry in Norway is the monopoly of two companies: Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. However, commercial organizations can also apply for a lottery license. In accordance with the legislative act "On the Lottery", they can apply for licensing the following types of activities: 

• post-drawing and pre-drawing of lotteries drawn up by the Norwegian Gaming Center or other public authority; 

• lotteries compiled by a commercial operator; 

• organizing a poker tournament. The license is issued to hold the annual Norwegian championship in three types of tournament poker and to hold five regional qualifying championships; 

• bingo; 

• preliminary preparation of scratch cards; 

• gambling activity on Norwegian courts; 

• slot machines. 

Activities that do not require a license: 

• lotteries with an annual turnover of more than 200,000 NOK (Norwegian kroner) provided that they have humanitarian and socially beneficial purposes. However, if organizations use commercial companies to arrange their activities on their behalf, a license is required;  

• Bazaar, where the maximum prize amount is NOK 8,000, the maximum bet is NOK 5 and the total value of all winnings is a maximum of NOK 40,000; 

• private poker tournaments that are held in private homes between people from the same social circle, provided that they are not of a "professional nature". The age of participants must be at least 18 years old, the number of participants must be less than ten, and the maximum bet per player must be NOK 1,000. 

Licenses are issued by the Norwegian Gaming Center. Conditions for obtaining them: 

• the company must submit a certificate of no criminal record from the chairmen of the board of directors and the general director. This certificate proves that they were not guilty of any crimes related to the violation of the Lottery Law; 

• the company must be solvent; 

• it must be registered with the NCCRLE. 

The processing time for a license application is approximately three months. The validity period and cost of each license depends on the type of activity for which it is given: 

• post-drawing and pre-drawing of lotteries compiled by the Norwegian Gaming Center or other public authority costs NOK 3,000 and is valid for one year; 

• lotteries compiled by a commercial operator - NOK 30,000 with an annual fee of NOK 20,000 until the expiration date (9 years); 

• organization of a poker tournament - 10,000 NOK. The annual fee is NOK 60,000. Validity – 3 years; 

• bingo - 1250 NOK, given for one year; 

• preliminary preparation of scratch cards - 6,000 NOK. 

Other fees: 

• organization approval fee – NOK 1,000; 

• commercial operator approval fee – NOK 20,000; 

• property owner approval fee – NOK 1,200. 

Online gambling in Norway 

Online gambling in Norway is subject to the same laws and regulations as offline gambling. Advertising and implementation of virtual gambling activities is prohibited without an appropriate license. 

Only two state-owned companies have exclusive rights to provide online gambling entertainment. The Norsk Riskoto website lets you bet on horse racing, while Norsk Tipping offers lotteries, slot machines, sports betting, poker, keno and scratch cards. norsk-tipping.no/kongkasino is the first online casino created by Norsk Tipping, which operates with the permission of the authorities. 

However, officially allowed sites have quite strict restrictions, so most Norwegian citizens prefer to visit unlicensed sites. In addition to being free of any restrictions, many of them have a Norwegian interface and accept Norwegian krone (NOK). 

At the service of the players: 

• 189 online casinos; 

• 22 sites dedicated to online poker; 

• 35 online sports betting platforms; 

• 33 bingo portals; 

• 26 mobile casinos; 

• 5 online platforms with lotteries; 

• 4 DFS sites. 

As an example, five online casinos with a Norwegian interface: 

• Omni Slots; 

• Casino-X; 

• Play Grand Casino; 

• Betcart Casino; 

• spinson casino. 

The game of poker is very popular among Norwegians. However, due to very strict laws, players are forced to turn to various Internet portals. Popular poker rooms with a Norwegian interface include: 

• PokerStars; 

• Full Tilt; 

• Betway Poker; 

• Bet365 Poker; 

• Unibet Poker. 

Popular slot machines in Norway 

In Norway, slot machines produced by IGT and NetEnt are especially popular. A selection of the five most popular models: 

• Hall Of Gods is a 5-reel machine from NetEnt. It has 20 paylines, special symbols, free spins, a bonus game and a three-level progressive jackpot; 

• Texas Tea is a 5 reel, 9 payline slot machine from IGT. There are two special symbols involved in the game: scatter and bonus. There is also a bonus round; 

• Triple Red Hot 777 is a popular slot from IGT. It contains three classic reels and five paylines. The game has a wild that brings additional multipliers, as well as a bonus picture that triggers free spins with additional features; 

• Cats is a 5 reel slot with 30 paylines. Its developer is also IGT. The game is characterized by the presence of double symbols and free spins; 

• Cash Coaster is a 5 reel slot with 30 fixed paylines. Producer - IGT studio. This model has free spins, special symbols, the Roller Coaster Wild option and other interesting features. 

Norwegian developers of gambling software 

Despite the strictness of gambling laws, Norway boasts some well-known software developers. For example, the company Funcom, which began its existence in 1993. Since then, she has developed and released over 25 games for various platforms. The most famous are MMORPG Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures and Anarchy Online, as well as The Longest Journey series. 

Prospects for the development of gambling business in Norway 

The Norwegian gambling industry has come a long way. If in the 1950s gambling in the country was perceived as something unworthy, today Norway ranks third in Europe in terms of the development of the gambling business. 

Recently, the government has been directing its attention and resources towards combating gambling addiction. This, in fact, is the reason for such strict prohibitions and laws regulating the activities of gambling establishments in Norway. However, this strategy was not very effective. This is evidenced by data from studies conducted by Norwegian Gaming Board analysts in 2007 and 2010. The number of dependent players increased from 1.3% to 2.1% during this period of time. 

In addition, the Norwegian government planned to start blocking foreign online casino sites by IP. But, given the negative mood of the citizens, this idea was abandoned. There is an assumption that sooner or later the gambling market will still open to foreign operators who will compete with state-owned companies and replenish the Norwegian treasury with tax deductions. In any case, the gambling business in Norway shows quite good results in its development.