Market liberalisation will better protect players, says Norway Conservative party politician
In an interview with local publication Moss Avis on 8 March, Pettersen once again called for market liberalisation in Norway, to open up the market to private operators.
The Conservative party member predicts 50% of Norway’s online gambling market is currently powered by offshore operators.
Pettersen is one of four party members driving its campaign for market liberalisation. In its September 2024 election manifesto, the party called for the monopoly model to be replaced, to “[provide] greater opportunities to help those who are struggling with problem gambling,” it said.
The country will vote in a new government this September and multiple parties are urging for gambling reforms. Norway gambling trade body Norsk Bransjeforening for Onlinespill (NBO) chief, Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm, told iGB in September he expected the market to open by 2028.
Learnings from Sweden
Looking at market liberalisation in Sweden and Denmark, Pettersen said neither of these markets regretted ending the monopoly model.
“In Norway we can create the best model based on the experiences from Denmark, Sweden and Finland. No one in these countries is advocating a return to a monopoly!”
Stakeholders in Sweden have called for the state to distance itself further from the monopoly operator.
Gustaf Hoffstedt, general secretary for Sweden’s BOS trade body, in December reiterated calls for the government to sell off its stake in the Swedish monopoly as it is a conflict of interest.
Pettersen also highlighted the use of national self-exclusion registers in Sweden and Denmark to increase player protection.
“We get better prevention of gambling problems with a licensed model. This was the main reason for the reregulation in Sweden. In Sweden, over 110,000 have now used ‘Spelpaus’ which blocks players from all licensed games,” he said.
He believes that Norway has one of the highest rates of problem gambling in Europe, but data is not readily available as many play with unlicensed operators.
Norsk Tipping fined for player protection failings
Monopoly operator Norsk Tipping was hit with a NOK36 million (£2.6 million/€3.1 million/$3.2 million) fine in February, for a glitch that prevented players from self-excluding from their gambling accounts.
The issue meant players were not able to self-exclude via the app between January and May of last year.
Petterson will present his views on market liberalisation at the upcoming Conservative party conference later in the month.