Norwegian counties launch campaign to defend Norsk Tipping gambling monopoly

At least four counties have launched a coordinated campaign against proposals to liberalise gambling in Norway.

Norway.- At least four counties have launched campaigns to defend state-owned Norsk Tipping’s monopoly on gambling in Norway. The move comes as several members of the conservative Høyre party push their proposal for the introduction of a competitive regulated gambling market at the party’s annual conference.

The counties of Agder, Østfold, Rogaland and Finnmark have all published statements starting with the phrase “We can’t gamble away” to highlight the funding they receive from Norsk Tipping for sports and cultural activities. The coordinated campaign is intended to show support for Norway’s current model, under which gambling can only be offered by Norsk Tipping and the horse-racing betting operator Norsk Rikstoto.

‘We can’t gamble away 170m kroner (£12.5m) for sports,” Agder argues, explaining that this was the sum it received from Norsk Tipping in 2024. “This money goes to building sports facilities, to local activity funds and grassroots funds in every single sports team, money for choirs, bands and theaters,” its statement added. The message also highlighted funding for the Red Cross, the Norwegian People’s Aid and the Rescue Service and the Cancer Society.

Siri Marie Gundersen, chairwoman of Agder’s Sports Association, added: “This is what we risk losing if the Norwegian gambling model fails. We must tell the Conservative Party that none of the organisations that work against gambling addiction want a change, and we must tell the Conservative Party that none of the organisations that receive grants from Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto’s profits want a change.”

Østfold put out a similarly worded message. It said it received 162m kroner for sports in 2024. 

Kjetil Bakke, chairman of the Sports Association of Viken (a short-lived country that Østfold formed part of), said: “Almost eight billion kroner will be distributed this year to sports, culture and humanitarian organisations throughout the country. How much profit would private owners in Malta and Luxembourg take before they pay a single krone in taxes or fees to society? Sports in Østfold and throughout the country need a continuation of the current gambling model with responsibility as the guiding principle.”

Rogaland said it received over 320m kroner in 2024, while Finnmark’s statement gave a figure of 81m kroner. Siri Ommedal, chairwoman of the Rogaland Sports Association, criticised the lobbying of the Norwegian Online Gambling Industry Association (NBO) and its Secretary General, Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm.

Norway will soon be the last Scandinavian nation with a state gambling monopoly. Sweden and Denmark have already introduced licensed online gambling, and Finland plans to liberalise gambling from next year.

For now, both the governing Labour party and the majority of Høyre favour retaining the current system, but Høyre MP Tage Pettersen recently told us that “two or three parties […} are positive about a change”. He suggested that opening the market could become more feasible after elections in September. Pettersen told us he believes that Norsk Tipping would do well under a competitive model, and that the state could maintain its interest in the operator.

Høyre’s Magnus Mæland, Ola Svenneby, and Anita Oterhals Eide are also in favour of ending the monopoly system, and their proposal is being debated at the party’s annual conference this week. They say the move would improve player protection and boost tax revenue.

https://focusgn.com/norwegian-counties-launch-campaign-to-defend-norsk-tipping-gambling-monopoly