On Friday, the Norwegian government made the decision to pass a proposal to ban online poker and gambling in the region. Residents of the Scandinavian country will not be allowed to access online gambling sites.
Enforcement of the new law is not expected to start until the middle of 2009, as the government still needs to finalize regulations for the new law, which is similar in many ways to the U.S. government’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
The ban is opposed by the European Commission, and by Norway’s Financial Services Association, along with many prominent Norwegian financial institutions. Some experts have said that they believe that the bill will end up in the European Court of Justice.
Opponents of the legislation have said that they believe the country is trying to get the ban passed to protect the state-run Norsk Tipping Lottery, which currently has a monopoly in Norway.
The Norsk Tipping company offers a wide range of lottery, sports, and other games to Norwegian players. Norsk Tipping is owned by the Norwegian government, and is ran by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs, and has returned over NOK 78 billion to various causes throughout the country since it launched in 1948.
Email this page
Print this page
Bookmark with del.icio.us
