Operators play down impact of new Norwegian payment blocks
Kindred and Betsson say they will continue to service Norwegian customers in accordance with their EU rights
Operators have played down the impact of new payment blocking measures being imposed by Norwegian regulators.
Kindred Group, Dreambox Games OU and Lucky Dino Gaming Limited have become the latest to be targeted by the Norwegian Gaming Authority (NGA) after receiving cease-and-desist letters.
Maltese-licensed operators Betsson, Cherry AB, Gaming Innovation Group and L&L Europe Players Ltd were previously issued with orders to desist in November 2018. All seven will now have their transactions blocked by over 200 Norwegian banks.
A spokesperson for the NGA said: “It is stated clearly in the three Norwegian gambling acts that it is not allowed for any entity to process payment transactions to and from gambling operators that do not hold a permit in Norway.”
However, a spokesperson for Kindred played down the new blocks saying that although they “create certain challenges” Norwegian customers can continue to deposit and withdraw their funds.
“We firmly believe that Norwegian players have the right to choose who they wish to gamble with. Kindred operates under a license within the EU/EEA and thereby has the right to offer our services to Norwegian citizens and Norwegian citizens have the right to use our services” Kindred added.
These sentiments were echoed by Betsson chairman Pontus Lindwall who told Swedish news outlet Affarsvarlden: “When the banks were asked to stop the transactions in 2017, it did not affect us, and this will not affect us now either”.
In January, Betsson, Cherry, Gaming Innovation Group and Kindred Group formed the Norwegian Trade Association of Online Gambling (NBO), a group which aims to challenge the current monopoly system and establish new online gambling legislation.
Norwegian law currently limits the provision of online gambling services to a monopoly of two state-run firms, Norsk Tipping, which operates sports betting and online casino games and Norsk Rikstoto, which is responsible for race betting services in Norway.
Norwegian regulators have placed restrictions on payments and DNS blocking of international operators since 2017, prompting outcry from local firms and the European Betting and Gaming Association, which filed a lawsuit against the Norwegian gambling authority in 2018.
In December, Kindred Group filed a separate lawsuit against the NGA claiming that it had been targeted with “unfair restrictions” by the regulator. The lawsuit, filed in the Oslo City Court, is due to be heard in June.