Norway’s gaming and lotteries regulator Lottstift in July ordered the two-state owned operators Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto to spend less on marketing campaigns. They have complied with the order, Lottstift told SBC News October 27.
Lottstift specified how much each operator reduced its expenditures, and each complied. Their reductions were about 20 percent for Norsk Tipping, which operates the country’s lottery and racing, and 5.2 percent for Norsk Rikstoto.
Lottstift Director Atle Hamar commented, “The Norwegian Lottery Authority is satisfied that both gaming providers have completed the process of reducing the marketing pressure. Advertising and marketing for gambling is harmful for those who have problems with gambling.”
Norway has been reducing betting ads and marketing since last year after Medietilsynet media authority won a court ruling against Discovery Europe about gaming advertising. The latter had illegally been advertising unlicensed operators using international channels.
This prompted Lottsitift to modify advertising the state-owned operators are allowed because they no longer had to compete against other operators’ marketing. At the same time Norsk Tipping had less competition from unlicensed operators. Hamar declared, “The illegal providers’ bets on horses with fixed odds are not in direct competition with the bets of the Norwegian National Sports Confederation.”
