Gambling in Norway is illegal for the most part, with the only two companies able to offer gambling services to Norwegian citizens being Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. The first of these provides games such as lotteries, sports betting and Keno, amongst others, and it is a wholly state-owned company under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and Church affairs. This one has rules about what times of day, and how much money players can bet. As far as Norsk Rkstoto is concerned, this is also state-owned, and it’s the only company within the country that is able to offer horse race betting.
Gambling parties can be arranged at home legally, as long as these parties are not organised as a business. This is how the country has proceeded with the industry as far back as the 1940s and 50s, and at this time, even the playing of simple card games was frowned upon. While the practice of playing slot machines and games saw increased popularity across Norway, the game was banned in 2007 and was instead re-introduced in the form of interactive video terminals. These require special cards linked to players’ bank accounts, and they’re subject to strict daily and monthly limits. With the new law being introduced in 2007, private ownership of slots was discontinued and Norsk Tipping is now the only legal entity able to own and supply them.
This was not always the case, of course, as in the late 1990s, the operation of slots fell under the regulation of the Lottery Act 1995. Because this was the dawn of modern day slot technology, the legislation was sufficient. However, it did not foresee the advances in technology at the time as well as the subsequent social reaction. In the years of 2001 and 2004, the gross turnover from slot machines was NOK 9 billion and NOK 26 million, respectively. Because of the poor regulation at the time, the slot industry grew very quickly, and this is what forced the government to put restrictions on the sector, until banning them altogether in favour of the aforementioned interactive terminals.
