The European Gaming and Betting Association Requests Norway to Give its Betting Regulation a Second Thought |
Gambling in Norway has been a controversial issue for quite some time now. In the past, most countries in northern Europe operated state-owned companies which had monopolies in the gambling market. These companies were the only ones legally allowed to offer the customers in those countries gambling products. In Norway, two government-owned companies, Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto, were tasked with this responsibility.
While, there is some logic in allowing such monopolies in the market, as, in most cases, the profits made by these companies are channelled back to the government sectors, this model isn’t very sustainable.
The monopolies seemed to have been faring well until the online casinos became one of the most common ways for people to participate in gambling. These companies, that offer their service online can reach the population of countries that have monopolies in the industry. Consequently, the state-owned companies are losing customers as they shift to the internationally licensed online providers.
One way Norway has been able to counter this trend is by prohibiting financial institutions from providing services for such companies. As they can’t accept payments, they aren’t able to make a profit or serve their customers. Even as the general trend in many Nordic countries has been to gradually allow private companies to enter the market, Norway has been adamant in maintaining the state monopoly in its gambling industry.
EGBA files a lawsuit against Norway’s decision to block payments to internationally licensed gambling providers
The European Gaming and Betting Association has commented on the country’s decision to start blocking payments to and from internationally licensed gambling providers. The organization has even filed a lawsuit which alleges that blocking such payments would be against the Norwegian and EU laws.
Furthermore, the EGBA says the regulation wouldn’t be effective as such restriction is “easy to circumvent, virtually impossible to enforce for Norwegian banks, and creates an artificial market by shutting off EU-licensed payment service providers”.
Maarten Haijer, who is the Secretary General at EGBA commented on the issue saying: “From a consumer perspective, there are only two licensed gambling providers in Norway – both state-owned – and this is just not sustainable in an age when consumers can easily search around the internet for their preferred choice of gaming product.”
He also emphasized the need to create an environment that allows the state-owned companies to operate alongside the privately owned Norwegian betting companies. “A fundamental rethink and reworking of the Norwegian online gaming regime are therefore necessary to ensure that local and foreign operators can co-exist and have equal access to a well-regulated market which meets the realities of consumer demand for different gaming products.”
EGBA suggest that Norway introduce a licensing regime, gradually allowing private companies to enter the market
One path the EGBA thinks could work for Norway is similar to what Sweden has been doing. Sweden has started accepting license applications last month and starting next year will allow private companies to enter the gambling market.
“This can be easily achieved through a national licencing regime, such has been recently introduced in Sweden, which would enable the Norwegian gaming authority to bring the activity of foreign websites under its control, alongside existing state-owned operators. That’s exactly what the overwhelming majority of European countries have been doing, and that’s exactly what we are urging Norway to do,” – Haijer commented.
The licensing regime would bring the majority of activities in the gambling industry under the legal framework. The government would be able to collect taxes on activities that otherwise would fall outside of the reach of the law. Furthermore, the market would become more competitive as the customers would be offered many options outside of what the state-owned monopolies have.
An obvious downside is that the hold of Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto over the market would weaken and smaller profits would be channelled back to the public sectors. Furthermore, the government’s influence over the gambling market would be weakened as well.
There hasn’t yet been a response from the Norwegian regulators and as it seems now, the country is planning to go through with its plan to block payments to online gambling providers.
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Everyone has their own preferences, there is no set amount of time which you should have a clean but the longer you leave it the more dirty the windows become. Generally speaking, our regular Gloucester window cleaning rounds are completed on a monthly basis, this maintains your lovely windows throughout the year and you know exactly when your due as visits are regular & reliable.
Would you want really nice shiny windows but dirty frames? No, I didn’t think so! We make sure your frames get cleaned along with the ledges and the glass every single visit. Also you could include extras such as the doors, as long as they are PVC and also any cosmetic PVC that can be cleaned. We like to make your home sparkle.
Do you have a busy active lifestyle, work away from your home?. You may not keep cash in the house. Paying is so easy with Go-Cardless. This direct debit system takes care of all the payments for you. Other payment options include BACS or cash.
Yes, inside cleaning is an optional extra. We tend to use traditional methods for inside glass such as applicator and squeegee or a pump up sprayer and cloth to polish the glass clean.
The water we use is very pure. It has been put through many different filters. The process is called reverse osmosis. We make and store the water and then use it to clean your windows so there are no chemicals or detergents in the water whatsoever. Your windows will dry clear every time.
No, you should not get any marks left on the glass, it should dry clear naturally. In the unlikely event there are any marks left you should let us know ASAP and we will pop back and give you a free clean.
When using a pure water fed pole the glass will be left wet and will dry naturally so there is no need to wipe or squeegee it dry. However there may be times when we use ‘traditional methods’ using a microfibre cloth and squeegee to finish off. If we have used any traditional methods to clean the glass i.e non water fed pole work, your windows will dry clear free from dirt.
Yes, rain water is very similar to the pure water that we use in the cleaning process. We measure something called “TDS” – Total Dissolvable Solids – this is how we can see how pure water is. Gloucester is a very hard water area which means the water we drink from the taps has a very high TDS level. at around 200-300TDS. Ever noticed the lime scale in your kettle? That is a mineral from the water in our taps leaving visable marks. The water we use to clean your windows has had all minerals and impurities removed leaving the TDS extremely low at the level of 000 TDS (PURE WATER) which once dry will leave your glass looking clean and streak free.