Norway Undecided on Payments Ban

Recent talk of a payments ban in Norway has been confirmed, though little is known as it appears, for now, there is little to tell.

Roughly two weeks ago, a report appeared in Norwegian daily Aftenposten wherein Trond Giske, the country's minister of culture and church affairs, indicated that the ministry was drafting a proposal that included language covering the enactment of a ban on transactions between Norwegian banks and foreign I-gaming operators.

In an interview with IGN, Rolf Sims, legal advisor to the ministry, confirmed that a proposal is being drafted but did not specify as to its contents.

"At this stage, the government is considering making the proposal, so there's not much more we can say at this stage because a final decision has not been made as to whether the government intends to go forward," Sims said. "The minister has said in the Norwegian media that he is considering the proposal, but the actual content of the proposal and the extent of the proposal is not quite clear at the present stage and isn't public information--not until it gets dispatched on a public consultation."

Talk of the payments ban follows just months after control of the Norwegian slot market was, by authority of the Norwegian Supreme Court, given over entirely to the state-owned gaming company, Norsk Tipping.

Sims observed that public opinion "to do something about gaming on the Internet" has grown considerably over the last two years, and indicated that the government had become especially concerned with issues related to online poker.

"Now, we see indications of a growing problem, especially related to online poker," he said. "And that's why we have a sort of feeling in Norway, that the pendulum is swinging more toward finding ways to limit the market rather than actually finding ways to allow and regulate it."

Sims made clear that no time frame for the proposal had been issued, but Hanna Nilsson, who heads the Norges Pokerforbund (Norwegian Poker Association), told IGN hearings for the proposal could start within "a few weeks," and that Giske was pressuring to have the law enacted shortly after the First of the Year.

"The Poker Association will do what we can to stop the implementation of the law," said Nilsson.

With regard to a possible enforcement mechanism, Sims said that the country's banking unions have so far been supportive of the proposal.

"They (the banking unions) say they are not very, very much against it, basically because of the focus on problem gambling in Norway," he said. "They say they do not want to be associated with this."

E-mails and phone calls to representatives at Ladbrokes (Norway), Betsson, members of the Norwegian Finance Committee and Giske's office were not returned before this article was posted.