Norwegian Regulators Propose A New More Streamlined Gambling Act

There is no argument that Norway has a robust and comprehensive gambling regulatory framework.

However, based on the findings of the 2016-2017 research report entitled “Everything to win. A responsible and active gambling policy” it has become clear to all parties that the current system needs to be streamlined from three individual laws into a single common law if Norway is going to stay abreast of advancement in technology and changes in the marketplace.

The intention is for Norway to replace the Lottery Act, Gambling Act and Totalizator Act with a single unified Gambling Act by 2021.

Facts Core Ideals of the New Gambling Act

The proposed gambling law proposal submitted by the Ministry of Culture received strong support from the Norwegian Lotteries Authority.

The Authority specifically noted the following ideals which it considered praiseworthy:

The bill clarifies that the main purpose of the law is to prevent gambling problems and other negative consequences of gambling, as well as to ensure that such gambling takes place in a responsible manner.
Norwegian regulation will be strengthened through new instruments that will provide better control of the gambling market and ensure a more responsible gambling offer in Norway.
The main principle that income from gambling should go to non-profit-based purposes is continued
The responsibility for gambling policy is gathered under the Ministry of Culture, the supervisory and administrative role of the Norwegian Lotteries Authority is strengthened, and the handling of complaints is gathered in one appeal body, the Lottery Board.

The belief is that bringing the three current laws into one new gambling act which has the above points as its masthead will allow for a future proof Gambling Act which can grow the market, protect players and not fall foul of any new technologies or developments.

More Details The Devil Is in The Details

Rather than simply deliver a series of sweeping statements and high-level commentary the proposed bill and its comments addressed several key areas of concern. Below are the five which stood out as being of particular interest:

✓Low Limit Gambling Could Be The Future

The Authority went to great pains to address the issue of high stakes and high-risk gambling in the proposal, stating:

"These games of chance shall have low turnover and prizes of limited size and shall not have a high risk for a gambling problem.”

The bill aims to limit the offering of high-risk games to specifically licensed providers who have a proven ability to manage the risks associated with that type of gambling, while general offerings are limited to lower risk options.

This would align with what we’ve seen in the UK where fruit machines had their limits dropped from £100 to £2 per game.

✓Credit Card Gambling Is Deemed Dangerous

The Gambling Act proposal addresses the issue of credit card gambling from the position of debt and line-of-credit gambling. It is illegal for a land-based casino in Norway to offer players a line of credit to extend their time at the casino.

The proposal argues that the online version of this would be to receive a line of credit from a third party vendor such as a credit card or bank loan. As such the use of credit-based cash for gambling should be banned from online casinos.

✓No Account Gambling Comes Under Fire

The Norwegian Lotteries Authority made special mention of casinos that offer no account or no registration gambling and have advised against them on the grounds of protecting the player and enforcing safe gambling requirements.

In order to protect players from problem gambling, it is necessary to have all players registered with licenced operators so that spend patterns and gambling behaviours can be reviewed and addressed when it is felt there is the danger of addiction.

✓Casino Games and Non Profit Organisations

Non-profits are known to use lottery-type games even host casino themed events as part of their fundraising efforts.

The proposed Gambling Act will address this by allowing such organisations to run gambling games as fundraisers under the following restrictions:

Turnover does not exceed NOK 200,000 per year
Said income does solely to a non-profit organisation
The games are limited to regional or local locations (no international offering)

Operating under these restrictions will ensure that non-profit organisations can continue to raise funds while working with the new Gambling Act. These also means that the non-profit will not need to acquire a gambling operator license.

✓Lootboxes Are on Their Radar

Big gaming companies make billion per annum via the microtransaction system known as lootboxes. Despite the technical arguments around whether these count as gambling the fact of the matter is that it uses the same RNG reward system that underlies slot machines. Only these in-game mechanics are offered in games rated as safe for children.

With the Netherlands and Belgium already having these mechanics removed from their games and the UK noting its dangers but commenting that it needs to find a way to classify them within its gambling law, Norway has made the following note in its new gambling regulation filings:

“Some elements of such games have clear similarities with the gambling games that are regulated by lottery and gambling legislation. This especially applies to computer games that have lootboxes.”

The document goes on to explain that it feels lootboxes and other gambling mechanics require their own regulation which sits outside of the Gambling Act in order to properly address the changing face of console and pc games and the ways in which developers try to monetise them.