Despite increased online casino revenues and player channelling, Norsk Tipping faces pressure to increase safer gambling through mandatory breaks, reduced jackpots, and fewer casino games.
With Sweden often being used as the template for taking your time and developing a solid multi-license gambling jurisdiction, industry experts expected that all the Nordic regions would follow suit.
Norway, however, has chosen to retain its gambling monopoly. This monopoly makes it illegal for Norwegians to gamble online unless they sign up with either Norsk Tipping or Norks Rikstoto.
Norsk Tipping is owned by the government of Norway and is the sole local provider of online casino games, sports, and the National Lottery. At the same time, Norsk Rikstoto oversees all betting on horse racing and other animal racing events.
But It’s Working
One of the most significant challenges any gambling regulator faces is ensuring a healthy customer channelisation percentage. In the case of online gambling, "channelling" refers to the percentage of local gamblers who play at licensed casinos versus those playing at unlicensed offshore competitors.
In a report outlining the current performance metrics of Norks Tipping, the Norwegian regulatory body Lotteri-og Stiftelsestilsynet (Lotteritilsynet) noted that the company successfully increased player channelling, resulting in a 12% hike in revenues.
It is worth noting that this report does not include its lottery figures, it focused solely on the casino games offered by its in-house brand. The reason for this is casino games are the niche where the monopoly is in direct competition with unregulated online casinos.
Time To Tighten the Reins
This positive outcome for Nork Tipping appears to be the catalyst for some bad news for Norwegian gamblers. As channelisation improves and more money flows into the country's coffers, Lotteritilsynet has seen fit to demand tighter player controls from Norsk Tipping.
Last year, Norsk Tipping reduced the amount of money lost in a single month to only NOK 5,000 (€490). The Norwegian governing body is now demanding that they also enforce a mandatory 15-minute break once a player has been online for one hour.
In addition to the mandatory break, they have stated that Norsk Tipping should reduce the value of the jackpots which players can win to “avoid high prizes triggering dangerous play”.
Beyond that, Lotteritilsynet has tasked them with creating a report that lists the number of high-risk games their online casino offers and then defend why that number of games is needed to remain competitive in the market.
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