Casino Operator Problems In Scandinavia

Scandinavian countries that manage and operate their own monopolized operators are Norway and Sweden. According to latest press releases both these countries are experiencing problems in this field.

Norsk Tipping, conducted a survey of the state gambling monopoly of Norway, it found that 4% of Norwegians over 18 wager at foreign online casinos. As of July 2010 new legislation imposed stopped all financial transactions with offshore internet casinos.

The survey report has been forwarded to Culture Minister Anniken Huitfeldt. She said that tougher methods must be imposed to prohibit unregulated internet gambling. As reported by the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet stricter measures include ISP filtering to stop foreign internet casinos and poker rooms. The Minister said, “Measures like these have been successful in Italy, Estonia and France and this concept is now popular in Denmark.”

However, this proposal does not have the support of the liberal section of the polity and the media. This idea came under fire from liberal leader Ove Vanebo; he said that it’s a crazy idea for politicians to shut out the general public from foreign internet casinos. The liberal publication Liberalen feels by means of introducing ISP filters will eventually lead to Internet censorship. The editorial stated, “The proposal contradicts liberal values there should be bipartisan accord in Norway.”

Svenska Spel, Sweden’s state online and land gambling monopoly reported a drop in net gaming revenues for its second year in a row. The acting CEO said it as a result of the measures taken by Svenska Spel to curb problem gambling. He said, “It stands to reason that internet gambling sites are popping up like mushrooms all over the internet, in effect this compelled us to instate measures to limit internet gambling.

We’d like to increase our revenue stream and impose responsible gambling measures at the same time, even if it impacts negatively on revenue.” He has put a proposal forward suggesting the gambling monopoly offers a larger variety of online casino games if it wants to be competitive and increase profits. In essence, it means the latest casino games and new licenses for new formats of internet gambling that are popular with players.

Responsible gambling measures introduced in 2010 incorporated the attainment of the responsible gaming subsidiary Playscan AB and the imposition of an 18 year age limit for the purchase of lottery tickets. Responsible gambling awareness is also on the up, since responsible gaming weeks are held at all major casino locations. Sweden is battling to find the right balance between increasing gambling revenues and instating proper measures to thwart problem gambling.