Online Gambling in Norway
Online gambling in Norway is limited to Norsk Tipping (https://www.norsk-tipping.no/), the state-run company that controls all lotteries and sports betting. It went online in 2002.
Norsk Tipping is a wholly state-owned company under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and Church affairs. Many Norwegians believe that money games must be regulated to prevent undesirable playing behavior.
Norsk Tipping is currently the only internet site where Norwegian players can legally place bets, because as of late 2008, with the implementation of Norway's Payment Act, gambling at foreign websites in Norway has been banned and declared illegal.
The ban includes a system similar to the gambling laws in the US - banks in Norway are no longer allowed to transfer funds between Norwegian accounts and foreign internet gambling sites.
The Norway's Payment Act establishes that processing payments for remote gambling where the gambling is being conducted without a Norwegian license will amount to "accessory involvement" in unlawful gambling.
This offense will apply to any financial services provider assisting in the transfer of payments from players in Norway.
Available Online Games in Norway
Norsk Tipping operates the games of chance, Lotto, Viking Lotto, Keno and Joker; the games of skill Tipping and Oddsen, and the scratch game Flax. In addition, the company operates the TV game, Extra, on behalf of the Norwegian Foundation for Health and Rehabilitation. Norsk Tipping also provide the games via mobile phones and Internet. All games from Norsk Tipping except Flax requires the player to be registered and have a playcard.
About Norway
Norway, officially known as the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometers (about 148,747 square miles). It has a population of about 4.9 million making it one of the most thinly populated countries in Europe.
Norway shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak Strait, across which Denmark is situated. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords or inlets.