A coordinated media campaign to save state-owned Norsk Tipping has been launched by several constituencies in Norway.
Agder, Østfold, Rogaland, and Finnmark are the four main regions that have come out united under the slogan ‘We can’t gamble away’ in support of the current gambling model in Norway, where the only entities allowed to offer gambling products are the state properties Norsk Tipping and Norsk Risktoto.
As Finland, Sweden and Denmark move from a monopoly gambling regime to a liberalised market, the Norwegian model – which will soon become the last remaining monopoly after Finland transitions in 2027 – is currently being put under review.
The governing Labour party appears to be in favour of a state-led monopoly, so is the majority of the second biggest political power – the Conservatives.
In fact, the 2024 Conservatives manifesto clearly states that Norsk Tipping’s responsible gambling model must be preserved so that responsible gambling measures are kept up to the highest Norwegian standards.
However, a dissident faction led by Tage Pettersen alongside Magnus Mæland, Ola Svenneby, and Anita Oterhals Eide has broken away within the Conservatives’ ranks, calling for a licensing model instead which they argue would increase state revenues.
The proposal is scheduled for debate during this year’s Conservatives annual convention, which began on 20 March and will continue for four days.
This convention, alongside the expected discussions, became the primary reason behind the public campaign in support of the current gambling regime in Norway.
‘We can’t gamble away 170m kroner (£12.5m) for sports’. This was the statement that the constituency of Agder revealed to the public. It was made known that the region received a total of 170m kroner from Norsk Tipping in 2024, which proceeds were used to fund sports, culture, and social initiatives altogether.
“This money goes to building sports facilities, to local activity funds and grassroots funds in every single sports team, money for choirs, bands and theaters,” the message read.
The financing goes further beyond, with the Red Cross, the Norwegian People’s Aid and the Rescue Service, the Cancer Society, and a number of other organisations that are social benefactors being supported by Norsk Tipping.
“This is what we risk losing if the Norwegian gambling model fails,” Siri Marie Gundersen, Chairwoman of Agder’s Sports Association, added.
“We must tell the Conservative Party that none of the organisations that work against gambling addiction want a change, and we must tell the Conservative Party that none of the organisations that receive grants from Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto’s profits want a change.”
Gundersen additionally stated that it is not the making of more money that she is against, but doing it “at the expense of gambling addiction, at the expense of responsible gambling, and at the expense of a solidarity profit distribution where 100 percent of the profit goes to socially beneficial purposes in Norway”.
“We want to maintain a stable and predictable income through the profit from a well-regulated and responsible player like Norsk Tipping,” she concluded.
‘We can’t gamble away 162m kroner for Østfold sports’. Similar to Agder, this constituency chose to emphasise the amount of proceeds locally received from Norsk Tipping in 2024 for the funding of initiatives with high importance for society.
“Almost eight billion kroner will be distributed this year to sports, culture and humanitarian organisations throughout the country,” wrote Kjetil Bakke, Chairman of the Sports Association of Viken – the name of the former constituency of which Østfold was part of, dissolved at the end of 2024.
“How much profit should the private owners in Malta and Luxembourg withdraw before they have even paid a single krone in taxes or fees to society?,” he continued.
“Sports in Østfold and throughout the country need a continuation of the current gambling model with responsibility as the guiding principle.”
The familiar slogan was heard in Rogaland as well, only this time the funds roped down from Norsk Tipping to this heavily populated constituency were more than double – over 320m kroner in 2024.
Siri Ommedal, Chairwoman of the Rogaland Sports Association, reminded that more than 70 voluntary associations across Norway have come in support of Norsk Tipping with demands to maintain the current model in place.
Ommedal criticised the Online Gambling Industry Association (NBO) of Norway and its Secretary General, Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm, accusing them of lobbying in favour of scrapping the monopoly regime in order to syphon funds away from social initiatives and into private pockets.
“It is not as NBO, through its general secretary, Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm, says – ‘there will be more money by letting the foreign companies go’.
“A licensing model will probably increase the number of players with gambling problems – we all know some – and transfers to culture, sports and humanitarian organisations will be reduced.”
In an interview for local media, Stenstrøm recently addressed the concerns of an increase in problem gambling prevalence if licensed gambling is put into place.
“All companies that are members of NBO have very good systems and routines for detecting – and preventing – problem gamblers,” he explained.
“My members collaborate with the same researchers and suppliers in this field. No one benefits from problem gambling, and as we see in countries with a licensing model, gambling problems have been reduced precisely because serious companies get a larger share of the market.”
Finnmark is the last constituency on this list to have come out in support of Norsk Tipping. The total proceeds it received from the state-owned operator for social initiatives in 2024 amounted to a total of 81m kroner.
The four campaigns also seem to include one constantly reoccurring figure – Zaineb Al-Samarai.
She is a politician from the Labour party, who is currently serving as the President of the Norwegian Confederation of Sports. Her presence is a strong signal that a potential Conservative sway towards the abolishment of the gambling monopoly will be faced with stark opposition from Labour.
As stated at the beginning, the Conservatives’ annual conference is currently ongoing. We will inform readers of any developments and outcomes related to Norsk Tipping and the gambling regime in Norway.
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