Why Are There No Land-based Casinos in Norway?

Europe is largely considered to be the home of legal gambling, with many countries such as France and England priding themselves on their lavish casinos. Norway, however, is not one of them.

The Scandinavian country has no land-based casinos, although the best online casinos for Norwegian players continue to serve the nation, providing many gambling games and excellent customer service. So, how come there is a best online casino but not a best land-based casino in Norway?

The answer is complex and it involves many factors such as strict regulations and a state monopoly on gambling, but we will attempt to give you a full comprehensive review of the matter in this article.

For this purpose, we will look into the history of gambling in the country, including a discussion of past and present laws, along with an examination of the Norwegian attitude towards gambling to see why there are no physical casinos in the Nordic country and why there might never be.

History of Gambling in Norway: Laws and Regulations

Gambling in Norway is relatively restricted in comparison to other European countries. Although the laws have been amended on numerous occasions to allow for more legal forms of gambling, Norway remains one of the European countries with strictest regulations on gambling, especially land-based casino gambling. 

Let us explore why that’s the case by outlining important pieces of Norwegian gambling legislation over the years.

One of the oldest gambling laws in Norway can be found in the Norwegian Penal Code of 1902, namely sections 298 and 299, which banned participation in games of chance unless the operator is licenced by the Norwegian government. Games of chance where the outcome is mainly based on luck were specifically banned.

The ban on many games of chance and the difficulty of obtaining a licence explains why no land-based casinos were opened during that era.

The government further tightened its grip on the legal gambling industry with the introduction of the 1927 Totalisator Act. The Act created a state monopoly on gambling, essentially banning the participation of the private sector in any gambling operations.

The state-run monopoly created through the 1927 Act is the still-active Norsk Riksoto which continues to have the exclusive right to offer horse racing betting in the country under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture.

In 1948, the Norwegian government established another gambling monopoly – Norsk Tipping – which was to be in charge of football betting. Initially, Norsk Tipping was a limited company whose ownership was divided between the Norwegian government (40%), the Norwegian Sports Federation (40%) and the Norwegian Football Association (20%).

That changed with the passing of the Gaming Scheme Act of 1992 which led to the Norwegian state assuming full control over Norsk Tipping. This new law also allowed Norsk Tipping to offer games of lotto, keno, and bingo under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs.

A few years later, the government introduced the Lottery Act of 1995. The law defined “lottery” as any gambling activity such as betting, casino games, lotteries, slots, skill games and any other activity, offline and online, that requires payment and may result in winnings as an outcome of a game involving chance.

A key piece of that legislation postulates that such games may only be offered by organisations with a humanitarian and socially beneficial purpose and whose proceeds do in fact go towards these socially beneficial causes.

The Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority was established to oversee these newly-regulated games and to licence any organisation that wants offer them on the Norwegian market.

To reiterate the meaning behind these three core pieces of Norwegian gambling legislation, a private company has little to no chance of operating a legal land-based casino in the country. Not only is it difficult to be granted a licence, it’s near impossible to make profit.

Norway Bans Slots

Although a private company could not easily open a land-based casino, some companies found a loophole in the Lottery Act of 1995. The Act legalised slot games, provided they were offered by a charitable organisation with an active gambling licence from the Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority.

Opportunistic slot operators worked alongside government-approved charities and opened physical slot venues on their behalf. The private slot operators shared their profit with the charitable organisations they partnered with, and indeed, that money was spent on good causes. It should be said that the government was aware of that but it allowed it to happen.

However, the number of slots in Norway only grew and that trend led to many new gamblers. The Norwegian government became concerned that their legislative oversight could lead to a gambling addiction pandemic.

As a result, the Attorney General for Civil Affairs and the Adviser of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came out with a joint statement in May 2006 that discussed the current state of gambling in the country.

The statement talked about the Lottery Act of 1995 and the lack of foresight the government had when it passed it. The two agents of the state advised for a revision of the existing gambling laws and stricter regulations.

Consequently, in 2007, slot machines were banned in Norway. Still, in 2009, Norsk Tipping was allowed to offer IVTs (interactive video terminals), a supposedly less addictive version of slots. In order to use one, players need a special card that ensures they are of legal gambling age (18+) and which also monitors how much they bet.

Any venue resembling a land-based casino which offered slots was subsequently closed.

The Rise of Online Casinos in Norway

Following the emergence of online gambling, Norwegian players became even less inclined to look for a land-based casino. Drawing on Norwegian gambling laws, the only government-approved operator of online casino games is Norsk Tipping. The Norsk Tipping website offers casino games, along with lottery, sports betting, and scratch cards.

Additionally, Norwegian players can play at offshore online casinos, provided that the operators have not been blacklisted by the Norwegian government. Norwegian players can bet at EEA-based online casinos as long as the casinos are not fraudulent and/or do not advertise their products in Norway.

Overall, since Norway never had a land-based casino industry, it is unlikely for Norwegian players to suddenly flock to a hypothetical physical casino when they have so many online options.

It’s generally accepted that the successful land-based casinos in Europe are only successful because gamblers keep the tradition of land-based gambling alive. When there is no such tradition, there would likely be little to no interest in starting one.

Is Norway Going to Open Land-based Casinos in the Future

The only way for Norway to have land-based casinos is for the government to open and operate said casinos. Sweden, for example, owns and operates land-based gambling venues, but it recently closed most of its casinos, bar for one, due to lack of interest by players who instead gamble online.

If you consider that and couple with the Norwegian government’s negative attitude towards gambling, you can see that land-based casinos in the country would probably only remain a pipedream.

Conclusion

There are no land-based casinos in Norway and there would likely never be. The country has never had a legal land-based casino industry, and now with the rise of online gambling, the chances of establishing one are slim.

What’s more, the Norwegian government still holds a monopoly over gambling which means that private operators cannot open land-based casinos. Drawing on that, the Norwegian state is unlikely to operate land-based casinos itself because it’s wary of the possible negative consequences of such action.