– Playing with an international gaming company is completely legal. This has been confirmed by several ministers of culture on several occasions. There is no legislation against it, so the state is still trying to stop this. That’s what Lars Dybwad, general secretary of the Gambling Association, says. The association was started in March and aims to become a mouthpiece and a resource for everyone who plays gambling in Norway. VERY CRITICAL: Lars Dybwad in the Gambling Association. Photo: Morten Bendiksen Companies affected include Bet 365, Unibet, Betsson, Nordicbet and ComeOn. In March, the Storting decided to so-called DNS block foreign gaming companies. The idea is that this should help those struggling with gambling addiction and also make players aware that the companies operate without permission in Norway. – The ICT environment in Norway is strongly opposed, because you tamper with the internet’s infrastructure. It is compared to address falsification, says Dybwad. – I cannot think of any other examples of someone in Norway being stopped from doing a legal act. It is simply censorship. Easy to bypass Several have criticized the blocking and believe it is too easy to bypass. Among other things with the help of VPN solutions. – Blocking will raise the threshold for making use of foreign gaming offers. This particular measure must be seen in the context of other measures we have implemented, says Even Aleksander Hagen (Ap), State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Equality. Even Aleksander Hagen (Ap), State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Equality. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news He points out, among other things, that the banks have made it more difficult to get money in and out of the betting companies and bans on marketing. – In sum, these measures contribute to making it more difficult for foreign players to offer their game products to a Norwegian audience. This is important, because it makes it possible to limit the extent of problem gambling in Norway, says Hagen. Increase in requests news has previously told about Thomas who squandered more than NOK 7 million. He hopes the block can help him stay out of games. Gambling addiction Norway is satisfied with the blocking and is happy that a date has now been set. They hope it can stop more people from jumping into the unregulated market. – There are still quite a few people who don’t know the difference between the different games. So just getting a sign that you are now in an area where Norwegian responsibility no longer applies, that will be very important. Especially for new players, says Magnus Pedersen in Game Addiction Norway. They have noticed a 50 percent increase in their digital meetings so far this year. They have therefore chosen not to be closed for the summer as they usually do. – It is good that people contact us and find us, but it is sad that the problems are increasing. The calls we get are a lot about debt. It is about major problems in family relationships and suicidal thoughts, says Pedersen. Magnus Pedersen, political spokesperson for Gambling Addiction Norway. Photo: Privat – Kritiske Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm represents foreign gaming companies in his role as secretary general of the Norwegian industry association for online games. – We are very critical of this, as we have said all along. That one should step in and block something that is a legal act, we are very critical of that. Stenstrøm believes the process still has many unanswered questions, particularly related to privacy and freedom of information. Something that the Norwegian Data Protection Authority pointed out to the Storting. – I expect the government to listen to the Storting and do thorough work, rather than rolling out a final regulation that does not correspond to the order the Storting had. State Secretary Hagen says that they have adjusted the original bill following input from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority. – Privacy considerations are well taken care of. Even after the Storting adopted the change in the law, we have had a dialogue with the Norwegian Data Protection Authority to ensure that all aspects related to personal protection are taken care of as best as possible, says Hagen. Published 02.08.2024, at 11.28
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The blocking of foreign gaming companies takes place at the turn of the year – news Buskerud – Local news, TV and radio
