When the national team plays, or the Premier League is decided in the last round, many supporters put up a coupon next to the match. But on match day, they have few Norwegian options, and the rules for the rest are stricter than many think.
In Norway, only Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto are allowed to offer gambling to Norwegian customers. For football, this means Norsk Tipping, with Oddsen and the classic betting slip. Rikstoto has trotting and horse racing. All other betting companies that target Norwegians do so without a Norwegian license.
The player does not break the law, but the bank must stop the money
Many people think it is illegal to gamble with a foreign company. It is not. The Gambling Act is aimed at the companies that offer gambling in Norway without a license, and at those that mediate the payments, not at the player.
What stops people in practice is the prohibition on payment services. Since 1 June 2010, banks and payment companies in Norway have not been allowed to mediate deposits to or payments from gambling without a Norwegian licence. The Norwegian Gaming Authority can also order banks to reject payments to and from named companies. A deposit with a Norwegian bank card on a foreign gaming site is therefore often rejected, and a win on the way back may be stopped by the bank.
However, the gaming has not stopped
The ban has made it heavier, but it has not removed interest. The Norwegian Gaming Authority estimates that just under 200,000 Norwegians played on foreign websites in 2023, and that net turnover there was between NOK 1.4 and 1.9 billion.
The banks have also stopped transfers that did not concern gambling at all. The matter has been raised in the Storting after customers had transfers to their own accounts in foreign financial institutions stopped. The Minister of Culture replied that the regulations do not require banks to stop all such payments, and that there must be concrete evidence.
Many Norwegian players instead orient themselves through guides that compare and evaluate the foreign players. Norskenett.casino is one such guide to Norwegian casinos: it compares and evaluates foreign players aimed at the Norwegian market, and does not run games itself.
The odds are the only legal betting on soccer
The odds cover the Premier League, international matches and the major tournaments. On the other hand, Norsk Tipping is bound by strict requirements for responsible gaming. All customers must have a loss limit, and the company monitors betting patterns. For many supporters, this means a narrower offer than what they see with foreign companies.
However, the monopoly has a wide reach. According to Norsk Tipping’s annual report, 2.35 million customers played with the company in 2025.
If gambling becomes a problem
The helpline for gambling addicts answers free of charge and anonymously on telephone 800 800 40 and on hjelpelinjen.no, and the family of the person who gambles can also get in touch. The age limit for gambling in Norway is 18 years.
The Norwegian Gaming Authority explains the monopoly model and the prohibition on payment services in more detail on its website.
