Apple scraps gambling apps from Norway App Store
38 apps removed, including offerings from Betsson and Unibet
Technology giant Apple has removed 38 gambling apps from the Norwegian version of its App Store, following sustained pressure from the Norwegian Gaming Authority (NGA).
iPhone users who have already downloaded the apps to their phones will not face any immediate disruption to their service but the apps won’t download any updates, effectively rendering them useless after a short period.
Apps belonging to Betsson, NordicBet, Unibet, Coolbet and ComeOn have been removed from Apple search pages. However, it is still possible to download online casino and poker applications from some international online companies.
The NGA first wrote to Apple in May, asking it to remove the accessibility to Norwegian players for any online gambling applications which are not directly licensed by the NGA.
In an interview with Pengespill.com, NGA senior consultant Frank Hoff Hana said: “We made Apple aware of the Norwegian regulations and encouraged Apple to investigate whether the current apps were in violation of their own guidelines. On June 22, we receive a letter from Apple where we were asked to confirm that these gaming companies do not have licenses in Norway.
“As such, Apple is following its own regulatory framework, but we are obviously satisfied that they have met our request.”
The letter was part of a wider package of measures introduced by the NGA as it tries to remove unlicensed international online operators from the Norwegian online market.
Among the changes introduced by the NGA are the blocking DNS addresses of foreign operators and prohibiting transactions made via third parties by gambling companies.
These highly contentious measures have drawn opposition from operators and the European Betting and Gaming Association (EGBA), while others including Betsson and Kindred have dismissed the impact of the new measures, which are primarily designed to protect the existing monopolies of Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto, the only two operators licensed to operate in Norway.
Recently, the Norwegian authorities have submitted a series of newly restrictive measures for formal European Union approval.
The new measures strengthen the powers of the NGA, giving it the blanket authority to stop payments to Norwegian payment providers from unlicensed international operators, with a de facto ban on all non-Norwegian online offerings likely to go into effect as of the start of 2019.