By formally submitting a proposal for public comment, the Norwegian government last week confirmed its intention to force banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions to block transactions to and from gambling websites.

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.

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.

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 Norwegian government has submitted draft rules to implement a ban on financial transactions related to internet gambling to a public consultation process, and notified the regulations to the European Commission and to EEA free-trade watchdogs.

The Norwegian Government has formally submitted its proposed online gambling payments ban for a parliamentary vote. The restrictions recently drew criticism from the European Commission in Brussels who view them as disproportionate, but strongly negative local press coverage demonising online gambling websites has raised the possibility of further ISP blocking measures being introduced in Norway.

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.

In the final part of a survey of global internet gambling payments bans, GamblingCompliance looks at recent measures taken in Norway and Holland that would oblige banks to block online gambling transactions. The success or failure of these two projects could determine the viability of payments bans throughout Europe, observers believe.

Norway will introduce some of the world’s strictest rules on video gambling machines in a drive to reduce the number of compulsive gamblers, the government announced yesterday.