The Norwegian gambling regulator, Lotteri- og stiftelsestilsynet, has announced that several unlicensed online gambling companies are now in the process of leaving the local market following a series of regulatory investigations.
The operators withdrawing from Norway include ComeOn, Betsson, Unibet, and Bet365 among others. The regulator found that all had been operating illegally in the local market for several years.
According to the release, the complete list of illegal gambling websites which are now in the process of withdrawing is as follows:
- Unibet
- Mariacasino
- Storspiller
- Bingo
- Betsson
- Betsafe
- Nordicbet
- Norgesautomaten
- CasinoEuro
- ComeOn
- Bet365
- Folkeriket
- GetLucky
- Mobilebet
- Mobilautomaten
See full list of offshore casinos active globally.
September of last year saw the authority warn Unibet owner Kindred that it would face fines of NOK1.198m (€113,930) for every day its unlicensed operations continued to operate under its local subsidiary Trannel. The case against Kindred had been ongoing for at least two years.
In recent years Norway has introduced several measures to limit the activity of illegal online gambling providers. This included a ban on TV ads that featured unlicensed brands and a ban on local payment processors working in partnership with illegal websites.
Earlier this year the regulator also announced that it had been granted powers to block domain name servers of online casinos that are unlicensed to operate in the country. In its latest announcement, the regulator stated that the operation to block servers remains on track to begin in 2024.
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