Lotteritilsynet Supervises Norwegian Banks for Non-Legal Gambling Transactions

The Norwegian lottery authority, Lotteritilsynet, has announced that it will be closely monitoring the country’s nine banks to ensure compliance with the ban on processing transactions with operators that do not hold a license.

Monitoring Compliance

In accordance with section 5 of the Norwegian Gambling Act, national laws prohibit banks in Norway from allowing deposits into and withdrawals from sites without a license. While the Norwegian Lottery Authority did not disclose whether the banks violated this ban or disclose their identities, it did confirm that it would be supervising compliance for each of the nine banks.

Lotteritilsynet has the authority to demand that banks cease transactions to and from specific firms and accounts. As part of its supervision, the regulator has requested details of the measures taken by each bank to block transactions with unlicensed operators. Banks are also required to disclose their internal processes used to comply with the prohibition. Rannveig Gram Skår, a lawyer for Lotteritilsynet, emphasized the importance of the payment intermediary ban as a tool to protect the Norwegian sole proprietorship model and prevent gambling-related problems.

Banks have been given a three-week deadline to respond to the regulator’s requests, and it is expected that they will largely comply with the decisions made by Lotteritilsynet.

EGBA Urges Norway to End Online Monopoly

Norway is one of the few remaining countries in Europe with a state monopoly on online gambling, with Lottery Norsk Tipping covering sports wagering and online casino gaming, and Norsk Rikstoto focusing on horse racing. As a result, the options for iGaming in Norway are limited.

Recognizing this, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has called on Norway to transition from its nationwide online monopoly to a licensing model for online gambling. The EGBA pointed out that this shift would align Norway with other European markets, such as neighboring Sweden and Finland, and help combat issues associated with consumers gambling on unlicensed sites.

Maarten Haijer, the EGBA secretary general, stressed that ending the online gambling monopoly in Norway would be beneficial in addressing consumer protection concerns.