Last Friday, a proposal was passed by the government of Norway that will potentially ban online poker and gambling activity within the country.
The bill, which resembles the 2006 UIGEA that banned the sport of online gambling in the US, also includes a ban on money transactions, like the one in the UIGEA. The government of Norway rationalized that the bill would safeguard gamblers who are inclined to problematic behaviors surrounding gambling addiction, though that reason alone does not seem like it would warrant such a skirmish as this. However, passage of the bill was opposed by the Financial Services Association in Norway and other various leading Norwegian financial groups, as well as the European Commission.
The new laws aren’t expected to be enforced until mid 2009, as the government must draw up the specific regulations that would support the anti-gambling legislation. Although, a senior legal advisor in Norway believes the bill will land in the European Court of Justice, anyway, before it is completely finalized and implemented.
Opponents of the bill suggest that the main underlying reason for the ban is to protect the state-run monopoly on lottery that operates out of a company called Norsk Tipping. This sounds similar to reasons that surfaced regarding the intention of the Kentucky ban on online poker play. Reports accused Kentucky Governor Beshear of pushing the Kentucky legislation to protect Kentucky gambling income that suffered a $170 million loss in the state lottery and the horse racing industry. Gov. Beshear directly blamed online gambling for the bulk of this loss. The hub of US horse racing exists in the Kentucky Derby, an institution that is deeply beloved by Kentuckians, not to mention the fact that the Kentucky economy is greatly supported by the Kentucky horse racing business.
Norsk Tipping is owned by the Norwegian government (Stortinget) and managed by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs. Norsk Tipping also provides an array of lottery and instant games to the Norwegian market, and since its establishment in 1948, the company has reinvested more than 78 billion NOK in today’s dollar value back into many facets of the country.
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