Norway Regulator Fines Norsk Tipping for Gambling Rule Breach
The Norwegian Gambling Authority (Lotteritilsynet) has notified Norsk Tipping that it could face a fine of up to NOK36 million due to a failure that prevented players from self-excluding from their gambling accounts.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:Under Norway’s Gambling Act, all licensed operators must offer players the option to self-exclude from gambling at any time. However, according to Lotteritilsynet, Norsk Tipping reported an issue with an iOS update that caused the self-exclusion feature on its mobile app to be non-functional from January to May 2024.
As a result, the regulator issued a fine calculated at 0.35% of Norsk Tipping’s 2024 net turnover, which amounted to NOK10.2 billion. The operator has three weeks to respond before Lotteritilsynet makes a final decision on the matter.
Self-Exclusion Bug Lasted Over Four Months
Norsk Tipping informed the regulator of the issue in June 2024 and said that it became aware of the problem on May 20 after a customer reported it. The company resolved the issue two days later, but the bug had remained active for over four months.
According to Norsk Tipping, the problem likely originated from an iOS software update on January 16, which disrupted the self-exclusion function on its native app. As a result, users were unable to access the feature until it was fixed in May.
Typically, Norsk Tipping players can choose to fully self-exclude from gambling or block access to specific casino games on the state-owned operator’s platform.
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Majority of Norsk Tipping Users Access via iOS
While self-exclusion via the app was unavailable, players could still restrict their gambling through other methods, such as the Norsk Tipping website and customer service.
However, Lotteritilsynet found that the majority of users gamble via the mobile app, with a significant number using iOS devices. Although alternative self-exclusion methods existed, the regulator deemed them “insufficient” to meet legal requirements.
It was difficult to determine exactly how many customers were affected. However, Lotteritilsynet compared average monthly self-exclusion data from the affected period with previous years.
Between February and April 2023, around 180 players per month excluded themselves from all games on Norsk Tipping. In the same period in 2024, this average dropped to 120, suggesting that approximately 60 individuals per month may have been unable to self-exclude due to the app failure.
Historical self-exclusion data indicated an average of 200 to 400 monthly requests. Based on this, the regulator estimated that roughly 240 users were affected.
A “Disturbing” Failure
Lotteritilsynet criticized Norsk Tipping for not having contingency measures in place to detect such an issue earlier, calling the failure “disturbing.”
Although the figures are uncertain and other factors may also play a role, there is still no other explanation for the significant decline in the period. It is disturbing that Norsk Tipping has not had a system in place to capture this type of development, so that the error could have been discovered and corrected at a much earlier time.
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