Mainly Unregulated, Partially Regulated
In Norway, games of chance are regulated by the Gaming Act (in Norwegian: pengespilloven) and the Gaming Regulation (in Norwegian: pengespillforskriften), both of which entered into force on 1 January 2023. The Gaming Act establishes a system of exclusive licenses under which the organisation or promotion of games of chance is prohibited unless a licence for that purpose has been issued, while the Gaming Regulation provides detailed rules on how the games must be set up and advertised.

In section 2 of the Gaming Act, games of chance are defined as games where three conditions are met:

• It is possible to participate against a stake
• It is possible to win something of economic value
• The outcome of the game fully or partially involves an element of chance, meaning that a skill-based game is included insofar as it also include an element of chance

Pursuant to the Gaming Act, two exclusive rights may be issued for the provision of games of chance (collectively referred to as “gaming services”), one for the provision of betting, casino, and lottery services and one for the provision of totalisator operating services in the form of horse betting services. The state-owned operator Norsk Tipping AS is granted the exclusive license to provide betting, casino, and lottery operating services in section 11 of the Gaming Act. The Norwegian government may issue an exclusive right to one operator for the provision of totalisator operating services in the form of horse betting services pursuant to section 14 of the Gaming Act, and the exclusive license currently in force was awarded to the non-profit-making commercial foundation Stiftelsen Norsk Rikstoto by Royal Decree on 9 December 2022.

No online licenses are available for private operators and, as a starting point, online licenses may only be awarded to state monopolies or the equivalent. However, please note that pursuant to chapter 4 of the Gaming Act, private operators may, if certain conditions are met, be granted licenses to provide certain lottery and bingo services. Please see the lottery overview and the bingo overview below for a further description.

As a result of the Norwegian monopoly model where the regulated market mainly consists of two operators that are granted exclusive rights to offer gaming services, the Gaming Act imposes a general prohibition against offering and contributing to offer gaming services targeting the Norwegian market without a licence issued by the Norwegian authorities (“the offering ban”). Moreover, the Act imposes a general prohibition against marketing and contributing to market gaming services targeting the Norwegian market without a Norwegian licence (“the marketing ban”). These prohibitions are supplemented by a provision prohibiting the transfer of payments to and from gaming operators not holding a Norwegian licence (“the payment blocking-measure”). In addition, the Norwegian Parliament has passed a provision that will allow the Norwegian Gaming Authority (“the NGA”) to require internet service providers to implement DNS-blocking of websites that offers gaming services and target the Norwegian market without a licence issued by Norwegian authorities. Please see the marketing section and the enforcement section for more detailed information on the bans imposed by the Gaming Act.

Market Size
The regulatory landscape in Norway makes it challenging to determine the size of the Norwegian gaming market. The degree to which Norwegian consumers gamble with operators licensed in Norway, limited to games of chance that are exposed to competition, is called channelization.

The NGA estimates that the size of the Norwegian market in 2023, based on net turnover, was between NOK 13.5 and 14.0 billion and that foreign gaming operators had a market share of about 12 percent of the total market. If the market is limited to games offered by foreign operators in competition with the Norwegian operators, the NGA estimates that the size of the market in 2023 was between 4.9 and 5.3 billion. The NGA estimates that foreign operators had about 29 to 35 percent of this market, rendering the estimated degree of channelisation for the Norwegian exclusive rights operators at 71 to 65 percent.

Numbers from 2023 shows a moderate increase of the total market compared to 2022 and 2021. According to the NGA, the size of the Norwegian market in 2022, based on net turnover, was between NOK 13.4 and 13.7 billion. In 2022, the NGA estimated that foreign gaming operators had a market share of about 36 percent, while the exclusive rights operators had an estimated market share of about 64 percent. Moreover, in 2021 the estimated size of the market, based on net turnover, was between NOK 12.9 and 13.3 billion. During this time period, the NGA stated that foreign gaming operators had a market share of between 44 to 49 percent, rendering the degree of channelisation at 51 to 56 percent.

Competitive Landscape
As described above, two exclusive rights are issued for the provision of games of chance in Norway. The state-owned operator Norsk Tipping is granted the exclusive licence to provide betting, casino, and lottery operating services, and the non-profit-making commercial foundation Stiftelsen Norsk Rikstoto is granted the exclusive right to provide horse betting services. Moreover, certain private operators may be granted licenses to provide certain games of chance, including land-based lottery and bingo services.

The provision of lottery services with an annual turnover below NOK 200.000 is not subjected to a licensing requirement, although certain requirements in the Gaming Regulation chapters 7 apply, e.g., the profits must be ear-marked non-profit purposes and the services cannot be offered on any digital platforms. Furthermore, the provision of lottery services with an annual turnover between NOK 200.000 and 100 million must be licensed by the NGA and comply with the requirements as put forth in the Gaming Regulation chapters 8 and 9. In 2023, the NGA has listed in its register that 32non-profit-making private operators has a licence to operate lottery services. Moreover, the NGA may issue three licenses every 9 years for the provision of games of chance with an annual turnover of NOK 360 million to non-profit-making private operators who comply with the requirements in the Gaming Regulation chapter 10.

Certain organisations may be issued a licence for the provision of land-based and online bingo services pursuant to the Gaming Regulation chapter 11. In 2022, the NGA issued licenses for the provision of bingo services at 233 land-based locations. As a starting point, the licenses as mentioned in this section do not include online offers, please see the lottery overview and the bingo overview below for a further description.

Localisation
As mentioned, the Gaming Act contains a provision prohibiting the transfer of payments to and from gaming operators that do not hold a Norwegian licence and a general prohibition against both offering and marketing gaming services directed at the Norwegian market without a licence, and a general prohibition against contributing to the offering and marketing of such services.

Top Key Attractions and Challenges
Attractions

• Highly regarded jurisdiction reputation-wise

Challenges

• Difficult market entry
• Advertising of foreign services banned if it targets the Norwegian market
• Active regulator issuing administrative decisions directed at unlicensed operators to enforce the Norwegian gaming regulation