Norway latest country to ban gambling

Author: Simon Dexter

With the news that the US looks set to overturn its ban on online casinos, it is strange to hear that Norway, home of the latest online poker sensation Annette_15, looks set to enforce a total ban.

The government has taken a moral stand and is suggesting that they must be in a position to defend problem gamblers. However, if you scratch the surface a little, you will find that possibly the major reason it wants to ban its citizens from the ‘perils’ of online gambling is because there is a state-run gambling operation in existence which will still be allowed to carry on trading should the proposed ban become law.

Luckily for Norway, it is not a full member of the EU and will not face any action from the EU Commission over the monopoly as Sweden, Greece and France have in recent months.

The interesting fact is that online gambling is already illegal in Norway and the new laws will only act to enforce what is already law. The ban will only target offshore gambling, with the state-owned gaming operator Norsk Tipping expected to be in the clear.

Could the fact that Norsk Tipping generated €1 billion in revenue last year have anything to do with the fact that the Norwegian Government has decided that its business does not appear to affect problem gamblers as well?

Last year, the same government banned all physical fruit machines not owned by this monopoly. As a result, all fruit machines in Norway are now Government-run, generating revenues that have grown by 4.8 per cent.

Back to the US and I believe they will ultimately allow online poker to be legalised and taxed accordingly in the very near future.

Nothing pleases the government like cold, hard cash and online poker taxes will provide plenty of it. As for the morality of playing online poker? Well, if they can play the lottery or bet on horse racing and have no problems with those activities, then poker is certainly a far cry from the moral bankruptcy in their society.

The fact of the matter is that anything can be addictive and we all need to exercise discretion at certain times.

See you at the tables!

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