Lotteritilsynet says it will monitor nine banks to ensure they comply with the ban on processing payments for unlicensed operators.
Norway.- The Norwegian gambling regulator Lotteritilsynet has announced that it will monitor nine banks to check that they are complying with Norway’s ban on the processing of transactions for unlicensed online gambling operators. Under Section 5 of the Norwegian Gambling Act, banks are not allowed to process deposits or withdrawals for such operators.
The regulator did not name the banks or suggest that it believed the banks had breached the ban in the past. It said it intended to supervise compliance. In a briefing document sent to the institutions, it has given them three weeks to provide information on the internal measures that each has put in place to halt transactions to unlicensed gambling sites.
Lotteritilsynet lawyer Rannveig Gram Skår said: “For a long time, we’ve focused on dialogue with Norwegian banks and financial institutions. For the first time, we have now chosen to open a more thorough inspection of compliance.
“The payment intermediary ban is an important tool to protect the Norwegian sole proprietorship model. The purpose of the model is to prevent gambling problems and other negative consequences of gambling. We largely expect to see that the banks have effectively complied with our decisions.”
Norway’s monopoly gambling market
Norway maintains a monopoly system for gambling under which only state-controlled Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto may offer products. However, several major operators have long targeted the market claiming that they are covered by EU law. Lotteritilsynet said that several companies’ websites will be blocked if they do not leave the Norwegian market by 2024.
It named the operators Betsson, bet365 and ComeOn and also mentioned the brands Mariacasino, Storspiller, Bingo and Unibet, which are all operated by Kindred’s Trannel subsidiary. The regulator has the power to order banks to block transactions to and from specific accounts and companies.
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has reiterated its call for Norway to drop its monopoly system, noting that neighbouring Finland has pledged to open a regulated gambling market by 2025, ending the monopoly of state-controlled Veikkaus.
