Norway mulls offshore gambling ad ban

The Norwegian Ministry of Culture has submitted proposals to ban foreign gambling ads from being broadcast to Norwegian citizens.

Under the proposed rules, the current Norwegian broadcasting act will be amended to give the Norwegian Media Authority the power to prevent access to advertising by gambling firms which do not have a Norwegian licence.

These orders can be imposed on TV channels and broadband providers and would be mandatory. At present, the Norwegian government is seeking industry responses on the financial impact of these changes to broadcasters.

Norwegian Minister of Culture and gender equality, Trine Skei Grande, said the Norwegian government was taking gambling problems seriously and wanted to limit foreign gambling advertising “to protect vulnerable players”.

The Ministry will also ask the Norwegian Gaming Authority to investigate the potential implementation of DNS messaging on unlicensed gambling sites which may be accessible to Norwegian players.

Consultations on both measures will close on 17 June.

This is the second time in less than a year that the use of DNS messaging has been discussed, with similar proposals falling flat in the Norwegian parliament in 2018.

Norwegian authorities have tried several measures to combat unlicensed gambling, including the blocking of payments to offshore operators, however many of these firms have cited EU legislation in giving them the right to offer gambling freely.