Norwegian Casino Regulations and Nordic Gambling Online

From free online bingo games to playing with real money. Here we assess the Nordic market and how online gambling in casinos is possible. From this guide, you will be better placed to know what laws are ahead of you before joining a Norwegian casino found online through our links.

Nordic Gambling Facts

There are 6 main countries that make up the Nordic contingent. Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Neighbouring countries separated by different gambling laws. We take a close look at how these laws and regulations work across each border and how you are able to join the best range of Norwegian casinos in 2020, going forward.

Denmark Online Casinos

Danes are in a lucky situation because of their own Danish Act on Gambling law and legislation. The Gambling Act was recently updated in April 2020, which brought in new measures on the safety of advertising gambling. A clear indication to recognising the matter and treating it with understanding.

Gambling in Denmark is very liberal and is perhaps one of the more relaxed countries in Europe when it comes to the laws of betting. It was not always like this and it took until 2012 for the Danish to change their policies on gambling. Originally formed as a monopoly, the business would out market rival companies giving no room for other EU countries to enter. This all changed as a wave of new measures came into better position the country’s stance on gambling and online casinos. The Danish Gambling Authority now controls over the industry approving licenses from overseas casinos to service their citizens wishing to play. This indeed comes at a cost to the casinos, who pay an annual fee, relating to a business tax. Everyone wins and the Danish get to play in hundreds of casinos online to get their chance of winning real money.

Finland Online Casinos

Finnish players will be pleased to know that gambling is legal in the country, but like many other Nordic regions, there are, however, some minor complications in the process access and what can and cannot be played in Finland. There are three state-owned businesses that hold the monopoly over the gambling industry inside of Finland. On the plus side, the scale of restriction is actually better than most other countries. In Finland, you can still access table games such as poker, roulette and blackjack. There is the national lottery within Finland and there is access to slot machines and national horse racing. This isn’t entirely doom and gloom, but the monopoly means that no other service is allowed to be generated from a remote business based in Finland.

There are three business sectors RAY, Oy Veikkaus and, Fintoto Oy that handle these areas of gambling within Finland.

Despite these laws and business in place, the Finnish law is able to allow online betting. There is no ban in place for the allowance of foreign casinos to provide their services. These foreign casinos are licensed by other governmental regulators outside of Finland and as such pose no issues over the membership of Finnish players.

Iceland Online Casinos

In Iceland, players are able to enjoy a range of gambling options such as bingo, sports betting, the lottery and slot machines. These are, however, only able to be used through charity organised events, everything in terms of a land-based casino was outright banned and made illegal.

The law never added to the equation the state of playing online in casinos that are registered overseas. Like many Nordic laws, online casinos are omitted because this would give the state control over internet access and this doesn’t look too good if you’re a government, just ask North Korea. So, players were able to join and play inside offshore sites as long as they were licensed by other recognised government bodies.

Sweden Online Casinos

Sweden is a place that courts controversial measure when it comes to casinos and gambling. Part of the EU, Sweden still refuses to shift its stance on gambling because of their own monopoly in place that is, once again, state owned. A very familiar theme that plays out in Nordic countries but with Sweden, they have taken it to the extreme.

In 1997 the two businesses controlling the lottery and horse racing merged to form the AB Svenska Spel. Now, it must be doing very well in terms of tax for the government of Sweden, because despite calls from the EU to allow other EU business to service citizens of Sweden, they have refused over the many times they have been called to bow to fair business practice.

Finland became a member of the EU back in 1995 and since then up until 2012, there has been a continuous back and forth regarding the fair share of business measures, as Sweden would have for any service they wished to provide in other EU countries. After 2012, the rules on online gambling seemed to loosen though not made official. The law was never updated and was left confusing as it never denoted online gambling specifically, so this became a loophole for players to join other EU sites online and get their gambling fix that was supported by other EU governing bodies.

Greenland Online Casinos

For those living in Greenland, the laws of gambling are entwined with Danish Law. So gambling is legal and access to online casinos is given the same credence. For land-based gambling, players can only partake in the limited options that surround charity schemes for non-profit, but like any non-profit set up, the winnings are restricted in the value you can win. If you are looking for other ways of gambling in Greenland, you’d be hard pressed as no land-based casinos exist.

Norwegian Online Casinos

So, how do the laws of gambling work in Norway? Well, as you can see from the other Nordic countries there is a theme, and this is just the same in Norway. Norway is, however, in a slightly different position, it is not a country that is part of the EU, so they are able to make their own laws and regulations when it comes to casinos and gambling. So, unsurprising to learn that gambling is illegal in Norway unless it comes from one of the two state-owned businesses called Norsk Rikstoto and the lottery sector Norsk Tipping.

How Norwegian Players can Play Online

So, the Norwegian government has stated in their laws that online gambling is illegal. You may think this doesn’t leave much room for movement, but when you assess the actual written documents, the law doesn’t actually define the terms of online gambling. Adding to this, the law has not once prosecuted a player that has played online.

Norwegian law is not exactly backed by a resourceful team as they have admitted themselves. Even online casinos are banned from advertising in Norway, yet, they have never issued a fine. The departments are solely focused on running and regulating their own two businesses that they do not have the manpower to control what happens online and in foreign casinos outside of the Norwegian borders. Because of this a huge influx of players still play inside of online casinos based in other countries because no-one checks and they are unable to check.

The claim that gambling in Norway is illegal isn’t even backed by correct legal measures and the internet is not something any state would want to control when there is a diplomatic election process. So, it’s a win for the Norwegian players who are wanting to gamble on something that isn’t state owned.