Norway Proceeds with DNS Blocking Plans

Norway continues its efforts to protect its gambling monopoly from foreign competition. To that end, the government has now proposed legislation that would introduce DNS blocking.

Norway is one of the few European countries that have yet to introduce a licensing model. Instead, the Nordic state continues to maintain its gambling monopoly, only allowing Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto to offer gambling and betting.

Amid intense competition from offshore entities, Norway’s Ministry of Culture and Equality proposed a measure that would introduce DNS blocking. As a result, Norway will be able to block access to offshore websites, preventing them from targeting local consumers.

The measure was approved by the cabinet on Friday and is the culmination of two years of discussions.

DNS Blocking Would Be a Huge Blow to Offshore Companies

The amendment to the Gambling Act comes a month after Norway’s regulator, the Lotteritilsynet, announced that it will monitor the activities of nine banks and make sure that they don’t allow transactions to and from unlicensed gambling operators.

Speaking on the new measure, Lubna Jaffrey, Norway’s minister of culture and equality, said that the government is bullish on mitigating problem gambling, which Norway often associates with offshore companies. Jaffrey noted that the DNS blocking measure would not have been needed if foreign operators had followed the rules.

Like in many markets, Norway fears the black market since offshore companies rarely play by the rules. As a result, few of them offer the same level of player protection that legal companies do, thus exposing players to higher risks of harm.

Offshore websites often rely on people who are not able to properly discern black market operators. DNS blocking, however, would not only prevent consumers from accessing such sites but will also notify them about the reasons the site has been blocked.

While the measure is sure to be welcomed by proponents of Norway’s gambling monopoly, it is likely to attract further scrutiny from Europe’s gambling industry. Companies and unions have been increasingly loud in their demands to abolish the monopoly in Norway and introduce a licensing model. Kindred Group, which recently exited the Norwegian market, claims that DNS blocking would breach EEA rights.

In addition, some argue that a licensing model would be instrumental in combating gambling harm. However, recent data shows that the country is already making significant progress in that regard.