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, find out about it at casino toppliste. 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, there are only two official sites by law that Norwegians are allowed to play on:
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. Sports in the digital age are also developing, read about it in this source.
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.
Eleena Timmons