Bank alerts for illegal gambling transactions on the rise, reports Norwegian regulator
As gambling activity across Norway rises steadily, banks in the country are notifying their customers every time they transact with a gambling operator that is not licensed in the Nordic country. Recently, the country’s Gambling Authority, Lotteritilsynet, has noted a spike in the number of these notifications sent by the banks, signifying the increase in gambling activity in the country and also the involvement of gambling operators that are not licensed to offer their services in Norway.
Banks are now actively involved with the regulator to monitor illegal gambling activity in Norway. ©CardMapr.nl/Unsplash
With technological advancements and the evolution of mobile phones, more and more people have access from anywhere to anything, and that includes online gambling. A chunk of the Norwegian population has turned to online gambling, making it one of the most popular pastimes in the country. A majority of the population is familiar with online poker, online slots and sports betting. However, in several cases, online gambling has gone from a pastime to an unhealthy addiction in adults of all ages.
The Norwegian Gambling Authority is constantly looking for methods to curb the gambling addiction amongst players of the country. Several gambling regulators around the world have a self-exclusion register where addicted players can sign up and exclude themselves from all kinds of gambling activities, temporarily or permanently. However, this only works with the astute licensed operators in the country and not with the illegal ones that are welcoming of vulnerable players.
In addition to the fight against gambling addiction, the Norwegian Gambling Authority is also detecting, fighting and eliminating unlicensed gambling operators from the country. The regulator is on its toes because online gambling activity via mobile phones has spiked significantly in the country. Using exclusive and lucrative offers as bait, unlicensed operators reel in players. Since they do not have a license, these operators do not abide by the gambling laws of the country.
While the nation’s regulator strictly monitors the gambling markets, both online and retail, there are some illegal operators that manage to sneak past the sharp eye and continue to offer their services to the Norway nationals. Majority of the nationals would prefer not to engage in an activity offered by an entity that is not legal in the country. However, the players are sometimes unable to differentiate between websites of licensed and unlicensed operators. Keeping all this in mind, the banks of Norway were asked to notify their customers who were knowingly or unknowingly participating in gambling activities via an illegal website.
Banks are part of the regulator’s honeypot
As several banks in Norway started sending notifications to their customers every time they transact with an unlicensed operator, the Norwegian Gambling Authority has received a boost in its combat with illegal operators in the country. In addition to that, Norwegian banks were instructed to block transactions between customers and unlicensed operators like Unibet and Betsson. Sentio Research Norway AS recently conducted a survey to see if the motion help the people and the Authority.
According to the report, Eight out of ten banks in the country continue to notify their customers every time they are engaging in a transaction with an unlicensed operator. In 2020, according to the gambling regulator of the nation, only six out of ten banks were doing this. Additionally, seven out of ten banks also took an additional step by enlightening their customers about the consequences of transacting with unlicensed gambling operators.
Cooperation from the banks is satisfactory when it comes to the fight against unlicensed operators. However, when harmful gambling falls under the spotlight, the number of participating banks in the cause drops significantly. Only one in four banks have shed light on harmful and problematic gambling for their customers. Inquiries revolving around gambling problems were quite rare when customers applied for a loan, according to the survey.
The Norwegian Gambling Authority is always alert to detect and deal with unlicensed operators in the country. Heavy fines have been issued on several instances. These are not only for unlicensed operators but also for the legitimate entities in the country that fail to follow the code set forth by the regulator. Some battles are easy, while others have been a little challenging for Lotteritilsynet. One of the longest clashes in the country’s gambling history has been the one with Kindred.
