On February 19, 2010, the King's Council of Norway passed the measures on payment blocking processes following nine months of public consultation. The measures will be enforceable from June 1, making Norway the first country in Europe to implement legislation requiring banks to block payments to unlicensed gaming operators.

Norsk Tipping has announced its intention to apply mandatory spending limits across its suite of lottery and gaming products, while the company also said it will approach the Norwegian government to prohibit players less than 18 years of age from buying lottery and scratchcard tickets in Norway.

Gaming machines will be reintroduced in Norway today when a pilot scheme for Norsk Tipping-operated VLTs begins in Hamar. But as a lengthy Government battle to bring the machines under state-control draws to a close, local authorities are now questioning whether they need to be brought back at all, and plan to use alcohol licensing laws to block their installation in pubs and bars.

Gaming jurisdictions in Canada, Australia and Scandinavia will all soon install mandatory smartcard systems on gaming machines in order to tighten player protection standards. The measures are likely to become commonplace worldwide over the next decade, according to the responsible gaming director of the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation.

Norwegian monopoly gaming operator Norsk Tipping has announced record revenues and profits for 2007, with revenues up 9.2 percent and profits up by 8 percent. The state-owned company also confirmed its plans to introduce compulsory player registration across its business as a means of halting underage gambling and money laundering.

The Norwegian Government maintains that remote gambling presents a greater threat to levels of gambling addiction in Norwegian society than the slot machine sector it brought under state control in July 2007 and is confident that the proposed blanket ban on all gambling transactions will thus stand up to scrutiny of Norway’s free-trade commitments under the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement.

Norway’s slot machine industry has come under the exclusive control of state-owned Norsk Tipping following the Norwegian Supreme Court’s ruling last week that the proposed state monopoly on slot machines was compliant with European Economic Area (EEA) rules.

Norsk Tipping’s announcement that it will introduce compulsory player registration for all its gambling services, except instant scratchcards, draws on last month’s decision in the EFTA Court that justified its monopoly on grounds of maintaining public order and preventing problem gambling.

The Norwegian government may change new legislation designed to stop payments to internet gambling companies, after coming under fire from industry groups during a recent consultation process.

The decision by the Norwegian Government to take control of all slot machines in the country, an action that was backed by an EFTA court ruling in March, has raised issues of local self-determination in the country and prompted some charities, who formerly benefited from machines, to turn their back on the controversial practice and instead look to establish a new charity lottery.