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Henrik Nordal, Director of the Norwegian Lottery Authority, said that the Norwegian government was “in favor” of giving the authority new powers to DNS-block unlicensed websites. The implementation date is slated for January 2024.
The Norwegian Lottery Authority’s new powers would be the culmination of a two-year process that began when Norway first consulted on DNS blocking nonlicensed sites.
Nordal said that gambling sites without licenses posed a special danger to Norwegians due to their “aggressive nature” that allows them to lose large amounts of money quickly.
Nordal, citing a population survey conducted in 2019, highlighted that 55,000 Norwegians are currently struggling with a gambling addiction, and 122,000 others may be at risk. The Nordic countries are then forced to pay KR5.0bn in social costs per year due to problem gambling.
Norwegian players are protected by DNS blocking, which reduces the availability of riskiest gambling games. This also means that a lot of people don’t know the risks of gambling with illegal gambling companies. DNS blocking will alert players to the fact that they are about to enter a money-game. Nordal stated that this is a good informational measure, which will also prevent money games.
Nordal also highlighted other measures taken to reduce the unlicensed gambling sector in Norway. This includes a ban of television advertising as well as a payment intermediary prohibition that caused a number banks to cut off their commercial relationship with gaming businesses.
“We’re getting more and better tools, and we can see the positive effect of this collectively.” Nordal said that we have urged the introduction of DNS blocking as quickly as possible because it’s a good measure.
After the new regulations are implemented in 2024, any gambling business that continues to broadcast unlicensed gambling to Norway will face DNS blocking orders.
The Authority stated that it will use the interim time to initiate legal proceedings against these organisations, with the threat of a mandatory fine if they don’t cease their activities. This is what the regulator did in the past to Unibet and Betsson.
We will make this a priority. We will give priority to guidance and DNS blocking when it comes to companies who have announced their intention to leave Norway and implemented measures which show it’s real.
