Norway confirms payment ban amendments

The gambling regulator from Norway has confirmed that the amendments to the payment ban will come into force on January 1, 2020.

Norway.- Lottstift, the gambling regulator from Norway, confirmed on Thursday that the amendments to the payment pan will come into force on January 1, 2020. While the ban has been around since 2010, the regulator estimates that Norwegians still spend approximately €600k on unlicensed companies every year.

The regulator said that around 250k Norwegians bet through foreign unlicensed gaming companies. The payment ban amendment is one of the measures that the regulator from Norway introduced to stop these gaming companies from offering their services. The goal is for Norwegian banks to stop money transfers to and from gaming companies.

Rannveig Gram Skår, adviser and lawyer at the regulator, said that the foundation of the Norwegian gambling model is to protect vulnerable groups from becoming addicts.

The regulator estimates that it will stop around €593k from being bet through unlicensed sites. “We see the effect of the work we are doing today, but the purpose of the changes is to make the payment service ban more effective,” said the regulator.

“The change also means that banks and others who have payment services in Norway must investigate all payment transactions to and from payment intermediaries or companies that are not allowed to offer gambling in Norway, if the regulator comes up with a decision on this.”

“We can also instruct banks and others with payment services in Norway to provide information about companies that provide payment related to gambling.”

The regulator has sent a letter of information to Norwegian banks, financial institutions and payment agencies about the changes.