Conservative MP argues for Norway to ditch monopoly model

Norwegian Conservative MP Tage Pettersen has said the country’s current monopoly model “does not work” as he suggested Labour was lackadaisical in its approach to gambling-related harm.

Gambling in Norway is currently available via state-owned Norsk Tipping for lottery, sports betting and online casino games and horseracing betting operator Norsk Riksoto.

Last week, Labour’s Åse Kristin Ask Bakke argued in Norway’s news outlet KSU that the current system is working as she pushed back against calls for opening a commercial model.

She said: “It simply makes no sense to let commercial foreign companies get their hands on the billions that are currently being gambled for”.

She also raised the point that political initiatives has meant people suffering from gambling-related harm has halved since 2019, according to a 2023 study compiled by the Norwegian Competence Centre for Gambling and Gaming Research.

However, Pettersen moved to counter Ask Bakke’s points by claiming there are more people struggling with problem gambling in Norway than in neighbouring Denmark and Sweden, which have moved away from a monopoly models to multi-licence arenas.

The MP also noted that fellow Nordic nation Finland is set to ditch its monopoly model in the coming years, leaving Norway as the sole torch carrier.

He wrote: “When Ask Bakke writes that the Norwegian gambling model works, we should assume that it would be reflected in the statistics on gambling problems. It does not.

“We have indeed seen a decline in recent years, after we have implemented a number of cross-political interventions.

“But despite this, there are more people who struggle with gambling in Norway, even though the countries around us have more inhabitants and have, or are on their way to having, a licensing model.”

He added that the current model was introduced before the rise of the internet and “half” of turnover is spent with offshore operators.

Pettersen also noted that switching to a multi-licence model would bring in additional tax revenue from operators – which the state is currently missing out on.

Pettersen wrote: “Most people who speak warmly about the gambling model we have in Norway argue first and foremost that it provides large revenues to the voluntary sector.

“That is true, even though transfers to the voluntary sector have not kept pace with price increases in recent years.

“With a licensing model for online games, Norsk Tipping will still have exclusive rights to its lotteries and scratch games, which account for about 70 %of their turnover.

“In addition, there is tax revenue from the gaming companies that are licensed to offer their games in Norway, revenue that we are currently missing out on.”

Norway’s Conservative Party conference will be held in March, with Pettersen hoping members back his call for Norway to switch to a commercial model.

Norsk Tipping was handed a NOK36m (£2.6m) fine earlier this month by the Norwegian Gambling Authority (NGA) over player protection failings.

The penalty related to failings in H1 2024 where the monopoly operator failed to allow a player to ban themselves from an iOS app.