Gambling is a part of life and something we all do daily. We gamble on our future, gamble on whether or not that decision was the right choice or as it is most commonly known as - we gamble on sports and casinos. Gambling has become a synonym for sports betting and casinos – both online and offline – which has made the discourse of gambling seem as something to avoid. According to one of Norway's largest resources on casino info, gambling is illegal for non-state owners of bookmakers and casinos, which makes it a federal market.
This article seeks to explain, in brief, the Norwegian gambling rules and how it works in the country to the north. Furthermore, it seeks to compare it to another Nordic country, Denmark.
State-owned betting
In Norway, betting is illegal if not state owned. There are two institutions in Norway that deal with all betting and gambling related content and opportunities for the Norwegians. The first one is Norsk Tipping. Norsk Tipping is the mother of betting, sportsbetting, lottery and more in Norway and if the bookmaker isn’t associated with Norsk Tipping, it is illegal. The reason for the State-owned gambling is to make sure that foreign businesses don't operate in Norway. This is a common thing in Nordic countries, where they monopolise and make certain industries State-owned to protect its citizens. For instance, in Sweden alcohol sale is permitted to the Systembolaget and can only be purchased in those stores.
The second State-owned institution is Norsk Rikstoto and that is a fairly simple and narrow institution. Norsk Rikstoto works in horse racing and gambling and betting on horses.
Gambling rules
The gambling rules in Norway aren’t strict. They are like many other countries, which may sound strange considering one of the reasons a country would make a certain market state owned is to protect and control rules for that specific type of business. Since January 2019, which is fairly late to have made this law, one needs to be 18 to gamble in Norway – which in most countries is the age the consumer needs to hit before being allowed to gamble. Except for the United States where the age is 23.
How it differs from another Nordic country – Denmark
You don’t have to look further than Denmark to see a whole other sports betting and gambling culture. First of all, Denmark removed the monopoly on gambling in 2008 and ever since a lot of foreign players have entered the market. This has made it so that the Danish betting market has grown tremendously. Most of the rules in Denmark are the same as in Norway.
The Nordic countries gambling culture differs from the one of the south European countries. Spain for example have a big lottery every year around Christmas that is used for among other things charities – this won’t be seen in both Norway and Denmark.
Disclaimer: Play responsibly. Players must be over 18. For help visit https://www.gamcare.org.uk.