Lotteritilsynet, the Norwegian gaming regulator, is proceeding with its assault against oversees gaming operators by prohibiting banks in the country from allowing transactions to or from these remote operators. The announcement which was made in the past weekend comes in the wake of a recent issuance of cease and desist letters to Kindred Group, Lucky Dino Gaming, and Dreambox Games Ou, which have been illegally offering their gaming products to gamblers in Norway.
This is, however, not the first time that the Lotteritilsynet has issued out warning letters to overseas companies for illegally encroaching the Norwegian gaming market. In November 2018, the gaming regulator issued out four cease and desist letters to Cherry AB, Gaming Innovation Group, Betsson and L&L Europe Players Ltd. With the new requirement, all the companies that received the warning letters will no longer be able to see their transactions facilitated.
In addition to issuing the cease and desist letters, the Norwegian gaming regulator also penned a letter that was addressed to the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) where the overseas gaming operators in question are licensed. In the letter, Lotteritilsynet demanded that the MGA take action against these operators as soon as possible since they have been illegally targeting gamers in the country’s market. The operator referred to the country’s gambling Act in the letter – this states that no entity is allowed to process payment transactions to and from gambling operators that are not licensed to operate in Norway.
Conflicting Opinions
Several operators in Europe have expressed little concern regarding the move and their arguments are quite reasonable, to say the least. As such, it will not be much of a surprise when it turns out that things do not play out in favor of the Norwegian regulator’s demands. In fact, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has already filed a complaint against the move – the association believes that the move is a direct breach of consumer privacy protections.
Renowned gaming operator, Kindred Group has also recently filed a lawsuit against Lotteritilsynet at the Oslo High Court and it is quite confident that it has the upper hand. According to a recent statement from the Kindred Group, gamblers in Norway are free to choose which sites they wish to place bets at. The company which operates under a license within the EU and EEA, therefore, is well within its rights to offers its services to citizens in Norway and the Norwegian citizens are also allowed to gamble on the operator’s gaming sites.
Previous attempts by the Norwegian regulator to block gambling transaction though banks in the country were thwarted after the EGBA filed a lawsuit against it. History is likely to repeat itself.
