Norway eases online bingo revenue rules

Norway’s gambling regulator has extended the period for operators to meet the minimum revenue threshold to offer bingo games online.

Norway.- Norway has temporarily relaxed requirements for operators that want to offer bingo online by extending the period to meet minimum revenue requirements due to the Covid-19 impact.

Bingo operators in Norway can normally only offer bingo online if they have generated revenue in excess of NOK2m (€186,000) over the previous 12 months.

Because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on revenue, the regulator has temporarily extended the period to 15 months if operators request the extension. 

New bingo halls, which may offer online bingo for a trial period in their first year, have also had their trial periods extended by three months.

The regulator, Lotteri-og stiftelsestilsynet (Lotteritilsynet) said: “The opportunity to apply for an extension of the period [has been introduced] as a result of the outbreak of the pandemic, which led to several bingo halls being forced to close, and thus lose revenue, for around two months.”

Lotteritilsynet noted that in the country’s bingo regulations, it was granted the authority to “dispense with the provisions of these regulations”.

When Covid-19 measures were introduced in March, Lotteritilsynet allowed bingo halls to operate online-only, and suspended regulations that require a physical draw to take place alongside the online component.