Online Gambling in Norway is Domestically Eased

Norwegian Law has seen a lot of action in the last few years when it comes to the subject of online gambling. Unfortunately for foreign companies, this action only moves in one direction, and that’s to get the foreign companies out of Norway.

In December of 2008, a law was passed by Norwegian legislature that prohibits online gambling through foreign online casinos. There are however, very few ways to enforce such a law, in that the “crime” would take place on the internet and would, therefore, be very hard to trace. Due to this, Norwegian gambling laws are now very similar to the American gambling laws which prohibit internet gambling.

Internet gambling in Norway comprises a very large market and the Norwegian government would like to harness the business to boost its revenue. The only thing that the Norwegian government was capable of doing, was to make transactions between Norwegian banks and foreign online gambling companies illegal. Online gambling sites in Norway like Norsk Tipping, however, are fair game to Norwegian Gamblers as long as they are licensed.

Norwegians aren’t too happy with the laws that are now in place. The government has blocked IP addresses in the country from using foreign online gambling sites. This is frustrating to many because they do not like having their entertainment options dictated to them in the comfort of their own home. At this point, being caught playing on a foreign internet casino is a felony in Norway.

Many other countries have taken an entirely different approach to the matter. Instead of trying to block players from playing on the internet, they regulate the playing options on the internet. Unlike the case in the US, at least the Norwegians have the option to use the Norwegian online casinos as an outlet.