Online Casinos in Norway
Gambling in Norway is highly controlled by the Norwegian government and supervised and monitored by the Norwegian Gaming Authority (NGA). The Government owns the only two organisations that are legally allowed to operate gambling activities in Norway. Norsk Risktoto are licensed to accept horse racing bets and Norsk Tipping operates sports betting, lotteries, keno, scratch games and poker. Since June 2010 the Norwegian Government has instructed the banks in Norway to refuse the requests of its customers who wish to use their credit / debit cards with land and online casinos anywhere in the world.
Norwegian Online Casinos
Since 2008 it has been illegal for Norwegians to play at offshore online casinos. However, many still use them as they offer a better range of games, return to player (RTP) odds and favourable bonuses and promotions. Many online casinos that hold offshore licences, can be viewed in Norwegian and accept the Norwegian Krone for deposits. The only legal website that features gambling games in Norway is government owned Norsk Tipping.
Online Slots - Norway
Slots were banned in Norway in July 2007, the Interactive Video Terminals (IVTs) that replaced them in 2009 are not popular with players who have turned to using online casinos for their gaming needs. However, it is illegal for Norwegians to use any other websites than those operated by Norsk Tipping, to access online gambling games.
Online Casino Games - Norway
Norsk Tipping offer online games of keno, flax, multix, belago, poker and scratch cards alongside numerous different lottery games. They are the only company that is legally allowed to offer these games to residents of Norway. In 2014 they launched Instaspill which is an online gambling site that offers scratch cards and casino and bingo games.
Casinos in Norway
There are no traditional casinos in Norway, the only company that are allowed to offer casino games is Norsk Tipping. They have over 1,000 kiosks throughout Norway that provide Interactive Video Terminals where Norwegians can play a range of casino games, including blackjack, poker, baccarat, keno and roulette. There are 12 licensed horseracing tracks that are run by Norsk Rikstoto.
Norway Gambling Legislation
The first gambling law was the Norwegian Penal Code of 1902, this was followed by the Totalisator Act of 1927 which allowed the Norsk Riksoto Foundation the exclusive rights to accept bets on horse racing. The Gaming Act of 1992 permitted Norsk Tipping to offer Lotto and football betting and in 1995 the Lottery Act was introduced. The Payment Act was introduced in 2010 and instructs banks and payment processors not to process requests with land based or online casinos.
2007 saw the ban of slot machines which were replaced in 2009 with interactive video terminals. However these were not popular with Norwegians, who had to use a special card that was connected to their bank account and ensured that they remained within their monthly limit. In 2015 low stakes Poker games were removed from the list of illegal gambling games.
