Norsk Tipping Backs TV Ad Ban as At-Risk Player Numbers Rise

Norsk Tipping AS, the national Norwegian lottery operator located in Hamar, decided to openly a proposed total ban of gambling ments on national TV channels.

Since in Norway there was an increased number of players with gambling problems…

…the country’s gambling regulator had to take serious measures.

More specifically, the lottery operator decided to stop casino game ments as well as the offering of bonuses and casino spins.

Some Operators Still

On the other hand, rivalry operators are still advertising on TV. Although they don’t hold the licenses needed to operate in Norway…

…they are actually using an existing loophole that allows TV stations which are broadcasting outside of Norway to play ads.

This is why Norwegian gambling regulator, Lottstift, announced that it wants to close this loophole as soon as possible.

More Measures Introduced

Norsk Tipping also decided to include new features that would limit players’ losses…

…which includes a maximum bet of NOK30 ($3.45) per spin on slot games.

There is also a limiter that leaves a minimum of three seconds in between spins, while there are also no options for fast or auto play.

Anyway, Norsk officials say that even though they tried everything they could to prevent it, there is still a significant increase in the number of at-risk players.

The numbers are actually quite disturbing since the amount of players with gambling problems increased from 6000 to 10,000 in the past year.

A Word from Norsk Tipping Officials

Head of responsible gambling activities at Norsk, Mr. Bjørn Helge Hoffmann…

…said in his official report that he believes operators and regulators must work together in order to decrease the number of players with gambling problems.

“In the media, both foreign gaming companies and TV channels that broadcast these ads state that television advertising does not create gaming problems,” Hoffmann said.

“It’s possible they manage to fool themselves, but this is actually very simple. Less advertising for casino games will result in fewer gamblers playing these games, and this in turn will result in fewer gamblers, ” he added.

“Therefore, the proposal for change in the Broadcasting Act to get rid of advertising and to enforce enforcement of the exclusive right model is correct,” he concluded.

More:

The Norwegian lottery operator also reported that the company had a significant increase in its total profit coming from players that have problems with gambling.

According to the numbers, those players are able for 55% of the company’s total profits.

But, Hoffmann believes that if the national regulator doesn’t do something about it…

…it could potentially lead to a total ban of iGaming in Norway since land-based slots have been forbidden in this country for the past 12 years.

“This is serious,” he said. “When we have seen such developments, how does this compare to companies without loss limits, which operate with minimum wagers of a thousand Krone and up per spin?”

Source:

“Norsk Tipping backs TV ad ban as at risk player numbers rise”, igamingbusiness.com, May 2, 2019.