Lotteritilsynet, Norway gambling regulator has ordered the blocking of 57 websites it deems to be operating in the country illegally.
The regulator revealed on April 1 that some 23 companies are behind the sites that the authorities have now blocked in Norway. This is the first round of blocking initiated by Lotteritilsynet as part of a crackdown of unlicensed activities.
Through redirecting players from the illegal websites to a page hosted by their internet service provider, DNS blocking works. This page sets out how while the site the consumer was trying to access is illegal, they were not breaking the law by trying to gamble on the site.
Silje Sægrov, Lotteritilsynet lawyer said restricting illegal websites will help discuss issues connected to gambling harm in Norway.
She said that blocking illegal websites will help fewer people develop gambling problems. These are the games that have the highest risk. They are designed to get you hooked and you can lose a lot of money in a short time.
After Lotteritilsynet last autumn warned almost 50 companies their websites faced blocking, the first blocking round comes. Almost 40 have since withdrawn from Norway from around 100 websites operated by these companies.
Lotteritilsynet has not revealed the identities of the blocked websites. However, it did reveal numerous large companies were among those that withdrew after the initial warning.
According to Amble, they are using the blocking method alongside other techniques to address illegal gambling. She adds that these efforts are making it harder for unlicensed operators to target players in Norway.
Amble said it is becoming increasingly difficult to be an illegal gambling company in Norway. There are several reasons for this. TV advertising has disappeared, and Norwegian banks are blocking bets and winnings to and from these companies.
Nevertheless, Amble also admitted that more needs to be done to help protect players. Around 50% of Norwegians do not know which operators are approved to offer gambling in the country, referring to surveys done by Sentio.
