Gamban adds Finnish and Norwegian to expand geographic appeal of gambling block tool
The UK-based provider’s blocking tool is now available in seven languages.
UK.- The gambling block provider Gamban has expanded its support services by adding the Finnish and Norwegian languages. The move means Gamban now supports seven languages. It was already available in English, Spanish, French, Dutch and Brazilian Portuguese.
What makes the two new choices interesting is that Finland and Norway are among the few countries in Europe that still maintain state monopolies over gambling. In the former, a new Finnish Gambling Act has been presented to parliament as the government aims to open a competitive regulated market by 2027. In Norway, there have been calls to liberalise the online gambling market, but the majority of legislators favour maintaining the monopoly system.
Gamban noted that both countries have low rates of channelisation to regulated offerings, with many players using black market operators.
It said: “Despite Norway’s strict gambling regulations, unlicensed gambling sites remain widely accessible, increasing the risk of gambling harm. Many individuals struggling with gambling addiction need simple, effective tools to block access to gambling websites and apps – and language shouldn’t be an obstacle. By introducing Norwegian, Gamban is making self-exclusion more intuitive and accessible for people across Norway.”
Account executive James Forman added: “Gamban has long standing partnerships in place with key organisations in Norway. Having a Norwegian version of Gamban seemed like a natural next step towards making the product more accessible in the country”.
Susanna Saikkonen, vice president of sustainability at Finland’s Veikkaus, said: “Veikkaus has built a comprehensive and unique safer gambling environment for our customers, and Gamban is an additional service to those who want to make a self-exclusion to all Veikkaus games. It’s also offered to customers with signs of risky behaviour when they are contacted through care calls. Gamban has been a really helpful service, and we are happy that it’s now available in Finnish.
In other news, Gamban recently shared a surprising suggestion for how to deal with problem gambling: get a dog. In a guest post on its website, the psychologist Desislava Bezinska-Sheinkova argued that dogs provide routine as well as emotional regulation and stress reduction.
