Bank Laws in Norway Fail to Lower Gambling at Foreign Online Casinos

According to the latest data from the Norwegian Gaming Authority, the country’s amended internet gambling laws only prevent citizens from using foreign based online casinos for 60 days. The amendment to the Nowegian gambling laws, which took a year to draft at the cost of millions of dollars, took affect six months ago. The heart of the law was the requirement for all banks and financial institutions to stop receiving or sending funds to companies involved with the online gambling industry outside of Norway.

Norwegians, who according to a recent international poll are extremely fond of gambling, easily circumvent the opressive law, by opening bank accounts in neighboring Sweden, Finland and Denmark, which are all members of EU as well as fellow Scandinavians. Norwegians are currently transferring statistically significant sums of money outside of Norway, to banks in neighboring countries.

So far, the unitended victims of the Norwegian prohibition are local Banks, which are no longer trusted by a large segment of the population for not filing a lawsuit to block enforcement of a law which was clearly against the interests of their customers. Norwegian banks are now seen as the government’s puppets, which goes against the principles of the Nowegian constitution. Privacy activists are furious due to ‘random intrusions by Norwegian banks to evaluate each private transaction’ as well as dominant religious figures.

Mr. Mohammed Azizzi, an influential Norwegian religious leader, demanded the immediate introduction and ratification of new legislation prohibiting all forms of gambling within, including traiditional casinos and online casino in Norway, warning that ‘now is the time of great anger around the world and when tyrants do not listen to the will of (a higher power), they (are removed from power).’

The total number of Norwegian online gamblers increased at the same rate as the same quarter of the previous year. The laws caused a temporarily inconvenience to adults who chose to spend their money on services on internet gambling sites in Norway even if offered by foreign owned companies. So far, only one Australian based online casino suffered significant looses during the initial few months of the prohibition, since their business model primarily catered to Norwegian players. Norway is the latest country, after America and South Africa, which deputized financial institutions to fight aginst populist platforms on bahalf of a democratically elected government.