RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING MOVE MAY COUNTER NORWEGIAN LEGISLATION

28 December 2007

Responsible gambling code to short-circuit Norway ban?


Major betting companies Expekt, Ladbrokes, Betsson and Unibet have launched a new ‘Responsible Gambling Code’ in Norway in a move designed to counter a Norwegian government initiative to ban its citizens from transferring funds to foreign online gaming companies. Under such a ban, Norwegian customers would be stopped from betting on football or cross country skiing through the internet.

The new code of practice seeks to promote and strongly support responsible gambling in answer to one of the government's justifications for imposing a ban.

Bent Svele of Unibet said that the issue was about freedom of choice and the decisions by Norwegians’ to do what they wanted with their money. Svele added that the Norwegian government's claim to be shielding its citizens from problem gambling was in reality a protectionist desire to maintain its state monopoly by preventing foreign operators from accepting funds from Norwegians (see previous InfoPowa reports)

Speaking for the Swedish listed firm Betsson, Hans Martin Nakkim said banning online gambling financial transactions would have no impact on problem gambling in Norway and would represent a threat to socially responsible gambling rather than being a precondition to it.

An expert panel set up by the Norwegian Board of Technology earlier this year showed it would be easy to bypass such bans, while criminal gangs could step in to fill the vacuum left and take advantage of operators not being allowed to accept Norwegian bets.

Nakkim said: “We hope through this campaign to direct attention to these consequences and we want to initiate a broad dialogue with regard to what regulations and measures are required and which have potential to work best in practice.”

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