Online Norwegian Casino Laws and Other Nordic Regulations

Stepping away from free online bingo games and discussing real money casino action, we now touch on the laws and regulations within the Nordic market. Focussing primarily on Norway, we compare the state of gambling from Denmark to Sweden to assess your options.

The Nordic Landscape of Gambling

Whilst our article will help you to learn about gambling in Nordic countries, our main focus is that of Norway and assisting you to find the perfect Norwegian casino that reside online.

Here we will help breakdown the laws of each of the main 6 countries that make up the Nordic market and compare just how each one operates next to their neighbours. This will mean briefly looking at Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland and Sweden also.

So, how are the odds looking for being able to access your favourite games within the casino when living in Nordic territories?

The Nordic Market and Gambling

Denmark: Danish players are in a very lucky position as they are supported by their own Danish Act on Gambling legislation. The Act was revised in April 2020, adding a review to the necessity of more safety on advertisement campaigns.

The Act itself is very liberal to Danish citizens and perhaps the less frugal of all Nordic countries. Before the Gambling Act, the Danish laws were known to be fairly strict, in 2012, these laws changed what was a heavily monopolised business to become the one we see today that is fairer with gaming options, that now limiting exploitation of players classed as vulnerable, there is more awareness to online crime that is now on lockdown and now imposes more measures on casinos to provide fair services. Everything associated with the gambling industry in Denmark is regulated via their own Danish Gambling Authority.

Finland: Finnish players are lucky that gambling is legalised, however, the process of gambling online in Finland isn’t without its complications. In Finland, the business of gambling is state-run which, in turn, makes it a monopoly.

There are three large gambling business in Finland that are state-owned, they are called Fintoto Oy, RAY, and Oy Veikkaus AB. The businesses are hugely popular, opening to the fact that gambling is a major pastime for Finnish people.

The sector called RAY looks after the gambling option of table games like blackjack and poker and slot machines. In the sector of Oy Veikkaus, this controls the national lottery and its local sports betting options. Lastly, Fintoto Oy looks after the national horse racing.

With online laws in Finland, there is no ban when using foreign websites, however, because of the tight monopoly within the country, no other remote business within Finland is able to produce their own casino for the web, thusly, this is why many Finnish players seek out alternatives in overseas sites for more gaming options to win real money from.

Iceland: In Iceland gambling illegal, however, there are exceptions to the rule if you are partaking or hosting for a non-profit charity. What is permitted through these charity events are limited to the lottery, bingo, sports betting and slots? How this isn’t too bad considering, but the returns of winnings are restricted.

Other forms of gambling are completely banned, this is the very reason as to why there are absolutely no landbased casinos in the country. Now, though these laws are restrictive there is a loophole for many outside online casinos which are classed as offshore businesses. The laws cannot block any of the offshore sites, these already come with their own licenses from other regulated bodies overseas, this means the market is open and allows players wishing to join overseas licensed casinos online within other EU and EEA countries and further abroad.

Sweden: Swedish players are faced with their own county’s monopoly within the sector of gambling. The country holds two businesses that control the available options, one being the Svenska Penninglotteriet, the other being the Tipstjanst. Back in 1997 both of these businesses merged and formed the AB Svenska Spel. It now controls gambling within Sweden and the national horse racing, called Trav och Galopp.

The overwhelming power of the monopoly didn’t sit too well with other existing EU members. Through many times of debate, the EU has argued with the AB Svenska Spel, stating that it wasn’t in compliance with EU laws which they must abide by and give equal space in the market to other EU member countries. Finland has been part of the EU since 1995 and from this time up to 2012, there has been much resistance, which seems to have taken its toll on the Finnish government. This meant in 2012 online gambling was able to commence within other countries with little act of legal power being put onto the player seeking their fortunes elsewhere, despite on paper the act of gambling online still being deemed illegal, but not one case has ever been acted on and there are hundreds of thousands of Finnish taking advantage of this.

Greenland: This Nordic element is in synchronicity with Danish law. Greenlanders can enjoy the liberal outlook on gambling in both their country and in Denmark if they choose. Iceland forms part of the Danish Gambling Act, as in, written into the law. When gambling in Greenland it is fully legal to do so online and is supported and regulated by the Danish Gambling Act. The odd thing is, is there is, in fact, no landbased casino in Iceland. Players can use the Danish model to gamble across a spectrum of online casinos that accept the Icelandic krona.

The Facts Behind Norway’s Gambling Laws

In Norway, the law is crystal clear, gambling is illegal. But as we have learnt from other Nordic countries, nothing is ever really clear. In Norway, there are to businesses that form the gambling monopoly, and as you may have guessed it, the two businesses are state-owned and control what is the lottery and keno games and the other fraction looking after the sports betting and national horse racing. These are known in Norway as the Norsk Rikstoto and the Norsk Tipping.

How to Gamble in Norway

Norway isn’t part of the EU, therefore, the laws are their own and cannot be swayed by the EU. This is why gambling in Norway is the strictest of any country in Europe. Now, there needs to be some clarity, because as we have seen with other Nordic countries there are plenty of loopholes. In the case of Norway, it comes to the regulation side of things when it comes to online access. Now, the country will say there is no gambling allows and this goes for online, it, in fact, says it also counts towards online gambling and joining overseas casinos, this is forbidden. So, with this, why are people in Norway still able to do this? Because saying it doesn’t make it so. The Norwegian government cannot control the Internet and it would be political suicide to tell your country what they can and cannot do. So, so they say it is illegal, but in the actual paperwork legal documentation, there is no clarity or definition of online gambling. There is no act towards players because the government bodies that would control these measures are being paid by the casinos through business taxation which returns an annual license to, essentially, not have their site blocked.

Money talks in Norway and luckily players that know of the loopholes can make money themselves by joining overseas casinos and still being able to win real krone currency from many gambling features.