Residents of Norway have massively refused the online gambling offered by state operators

In Norway, the monopoly on gambling by public operators is collapsing. This was announced by the Secretary General of the European Gambling and Betting Association Marten Hayer. According to him, the Norwegian authorities have lost control over the online gambling market. Recall that only two companies in Norway – Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto, owned by the state – have the right to engage in lotteries, betting and sweepstakes. According to Hyer, 66% of Norwegian online gambling activity is carried out on foreign sites, which means that control over more than half of its own online gambling market has been lost. Because of this, Norway annually loses about two billion crowns in taxes and cannot protect the players by national legislation, Hayer stated. And all because gamblers refuse state-owned companies, preferring foreign operators that offer the best selection of gambling entertainment and prices for services, said the Secretary General of the European Gambling and Betting Association. He believes that the Norwegian authorities are mistaken in their justification of the state monopoly in the best possible control of gambling and the protection of gamblers. Considering that Norwegians, savvy in Internet business, are actively looking for an easily accessible alternative to state-owned gambling entertainment on the Web, stressed Marten Hayer. In his opinion, Norway should follow the successful example of its neighbors Denmark and Sweden, which have a multi-licence system. Under this regime, legal gambling operators must comply with a number of rules and measures to protect gamblers, which is provided for by the requirements for licensees. And compliance with these requirements is ensured and controlled by the state gambling regulator, which is a guarantee of responsibility for the control of the industry by the authorities, Hayer explained. In addition, the head of the European Gambling and Betting Association drew attention to the fact that the introduction of a multi-license system will radically reduce the number of online gamblers using the services of foreign operators. And also to increase the taxes received by the state, give players a wide choice of operators and create the necessary competition in the gambling market, added Marten Hayer. This, he believes, will encourage gamblers to use the services of legal operators within the country that are supervised by the Norwegian authorities. As My Lucky Story wrote, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan criticized the deputies of the country’s parliament, who in the first reading adopted a draft law on a gambling zone in the Issyk-Kul region. Earlier it was reported that the appointment of Ryan Pace as the head of the board of the Malta Gambling Authority caused criticism from the gambling industry and politicians.