Understanding Online Casino Legality in Norway 08 March 2024

Norway has a love-hate relationship with online casinos. It is a highly regulated industry that does not allow foreign online casinos to operate within the country. The gambling industry is run by a monopoly of two state-owned firms.

In this article, we will share gambling legal issues in Norway that players need to pay attention to.

History of Norway Gambling Laws

Gambling has existed in Norway since 1902 when the Penal Code allowed only licenced gambling on games of chance. Since then five other laws were created:

• The Totalizator Act was passed in 1927 to establish Norse Rikstoto and make horse racing betting legal. Norsk Tipping was later established.

• Most other gambling forms were legalised once the Gaming Scheme Act was passed in 1992 

• The third law is the Lottery Act of 1995. It formalised the legalities around lottery and lottery-like games. It made exceptions for gambling activities held for charitable causes and was amended in 2015 to allow private casinos providing poker to operate under strict rules.

• The final law is the Gaming Scheme Act of 2023 to combine all the regulations into one. It also gave authority to the Norwegian regulatory authority to block foreign gambling websites and issue fines.

• Payment Act was passed to ban Norwegian banks from processing transactions from online gambling.

What games can you play legally in Norway?

The monopoly on casino games by Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto offers limited games described below. 

Poker 

It is under the control of Norsk Tipping and has some restrictions regarding the number of people that can participate and the highest acceptable winning amount. Poker allows up to 10 players with a prize-winning maximum of 1000 NOK.

While poker machines are illegal, players are allowed to access online poker sites run by foreign betting companies.

Lottery 

Poker is under the monopoly of Norsk Tipping which runs popular draws such as Vikinglotto and scratchards. The legal age for the lottery was changed from 14 years to 18 years in 2019.

Crypto casinos 

Crypto casinos and the acceptance of cryptocurrencies are banned in Norway by the Tax Administration. However, players can access foreign crypto casinos online since the government has not paid much attention to regulating them.

Sports betting 

Sports betting is also acceptable in Norway but under the monopoly of Norsk Rikstoto. The most popular sports betting in Norway is horse racing and trotting. 

When players want to access more sports betting markets not offered by Norsk Tipping, they can access them at online casinos.

In Conclusion

Norway great because winning from gambling is not taxed since it is state-owned and for charitable purposes. But once winnings are from overseas and more than 10000 NOK, they are liable for a 28% tax.

While regulations do not allow for online casinos to operate in Norway, gamblers above 18 years can access online casinos and cannot be penalized for it. 

The only challenge is the government still has the power to block any online casino.