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Norwegian exclusive rights holder Norsk Tipping has said its latest results reflect the strengthening of its monopoly position as a result of changes introduced in the Norwegian Gambling Act last year.
From 2022 to 2023, Norsk Tipping estimates in its latest annual report that the unregulated market has reduced in size by NOK300m (€25.6m).
During the same period, Norsk Tipping's turnover for casino and sports games increased by about NOK170m.
“It indicates that [the new law] has succeeded in both channeling gambling activity back into the regulated market and dampened turnover for high-risk games in society,” Norsk Tipping stated.
On January 1, 2023, the Norwegian Gambling Act came into force, updating and consolidating the three previous laws on gambling. The act also introduced new provisions including restricting advertising by foreign operators and additional measures to ensure safer gambling.
The act also maintains the exclusive rights model for lottery games and sports betting to Norsk Tipping and for betting on horseracing to Norsk Rikstoto, which had its licence extended for ten years in December 2022.
Norsk Tipping estimates the unregulated market further declined in 2023 by NOK1.3bn to become the equivalent of around 9.8 percent of the entire gambling market. This is the smallest market share for the unregulated market since 2013, it said.
The company stated: “In general, the marketing ban for games that do not have a permit in Norway has worked well for a long time. Together with the payment ban, it contributes to the fact that it is difficult for the unregulated players to offer games aimed at the Norwegian market, which strongly supports Norsk Tipping's channeling.”
More changes on the horizon could further strengthen Norsk Tipping's position.
On October 20, 2023, the Norwegian Cabinet of Ministers approved proposed amendments to the Gambling Act 2022 enabling the blocking of websites that offer illegal gambling in Norway.
The minister for culture and equality has also put forward a proposal on DNS blocking, where internet providers must introduce technical measures to prevent internet users from accessing selected websites using the domain name system (DNS).
