Norway’s Conservative Party Joins Calls for End to Gambling Monopoly
Norway’s Conservative party (Høyre) has changed its policy on online gambling and is calling for an end to the country’s gambling monopoly. The note was written into the party’s latest election manifesto ahead of Norway’s September 2025 general election.
Norway’s Conservative party is the second biggest party in parliament with 36 of the 169 seats. It obtained 20.6 percent of the vote in the 2021 general election.
The change in policy follows neighboring country Finland’s move to liberalize its own online gambling sector by 2026.
“I am extremely optimistic this could be our time for a licensed gambling market,” Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm, general-secretary for Norway’s gambling trade body Norsk Bransjeforening for Onlinespill (NBO), told iGB.
U.K. Gambling Participation Flat, Under a Third of Customers Play Non-Lottery Verticals
The U.K. Gambling Commission Sept. 12 published its latest iteration of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), looking at gambling participation across the U.K. between 15 January and 28 April. Participation remained flat on H1 2023, as the majority of participants gambled to win “big money.”
Overall gambling participation between January and April was the same as last year at 48 percent across the entire sample. This dropped to 27 percent when excluding lottery.
When taking a deeper look at online gambling rates, 16 percent of participants had gambled via desktop or mobile apps in the last four weeks (excluding lottery). Broken down by sex, slightly more men (20 percent) preferred online gambling, against only 13 percent of women. Men aged 35 to 44 gambled the most online with a 29 percent rate of participation.
Entain’s U.K., Ireland Turnaround Pays Off as Market Reports Growth
Entain reported that both gaming and sports betting in its primary market of the U.K. and Ireland (UK&I) have experienced accelerated recovery in H2.
The group suffered a 6 percent drop in group NGR (net gaming revenue) across its UK&I business in H1, as both gaming and sports NGR dipped 7 percent and 5 percent respectively on regulatory changes enforced last year.
Previous interim CEO Stella David said at the time that UK turnaround efforts were in motion and the operator expected to return the region to growth in H2, thanks to various product and operational changes.
So far in H2 the UK&I arm has seen stronger volumes and margins in sports than the previous six-month period, which has boosted betting NGR so far.
Online NGR growth in H2 has so far exceeded the company’s expectations, the trading update said.
Superbet Founder Sacha Dragic Returns to Helm as Co-CEO
Sacha Dragic, who founded Superbet in 2008, will work with current CEO Jimmy Maymann to lead the business through its next phase of growth. He initially stepped down as CEO in 2019 after 10 years in the role, when he shifted to board member.
Maymann stepped into the role in January when he succeeded Johnny Hartnett who spent almost five years as CEO. He subsequently stepped into a non-executive board position.
In a town hall held earlier this week the business announced various key appointments to the executive team, including former VP of engineering Sameen Jalal’s promotion to chief technology officer.
Can Finland’s Monopoly Thrive in a Licensed Gambling Market?
Finland’s Veikkaus monopoly business has been in steady decline for years. In its H1 earnings released on Sept. 2, group managing director Olli Sarekoski pointed to a lower-than-expected profit margin, while its group gaming revenue suffered a 21 percent drop on the previous year.
“Veikkaus hasn’t been competitive [for some time],” says local lawyer Antti Koivula. “And the previous Lotteries Act update in 2022 worsened the situation.”
Despite disappointing results Veikkaus is bullish about the upcoming licensed market, to launch in 2027. All operational efforts are being invested in preparing for the change.
But stakeholders have flagged a number of policies that could significantly benefit Veikkaus in the open market.
Industry consultant and former Veikkaus executive Jari Vähänen believes Veikkaus’ licensed business will maintain a major competitive advantage if it has access to its 2.5 million-strong customer base.
Thanks to its monopoly legacy, Koivula expects Veikkaus to enter the licensed market with a 20-25 percent market share. “Anything above 30% would be a considerably positive surprise and anything below 20% could be catastrophic.”
