Norwegian Payments Ban Set for Nov. Vote

The Norwegian Parliament is set to debate and vote on a proposed payments ban on Nov. 28, IGamingNews has learned.

“The bill proposal is now in Parliament and it is expected that it will debated and voted on Nov. 28,” Rolf Francis Sims, the legal adviser to Norway’s Royal Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs, told IGN this morning by e-mail. “This does not mean that new legislation will be implemented on that date.”

The bill, which would prevent Norwegian banks and financial institutions, exclusively, from processing transactions for Internet gambling, was introduced in Parliament in September.

Trond Giske, the outspoken head of the culture and church affairs ministry who, previously, played an instrumental role in upending the country's commercial slot-machine market, was a key player in crafting the proposal.

“This has given us quite a headache,” Per Scavenius, Ladbrokes’ country manager in Norway, told IGN yesterday by telephone when asked about the proposal.

Mr. Sims said that in the proposal sent to Parliament, it was acknowledged that more detailed regulations may need to be written, which -- assuming the proposal passes -- could have an effect on the implementation date.

While the fate of Mr. Giske's proposed payments ban has yet to be determined, Mr. Sims said in October that it could fare well given Mr. Giske's own Labour Party, pursuant to the last election in 2005, holds 61 of 169 seats in Parliament. He said that an opposing party -- which he did not identify -- had also pledged to back the minister's proposal.

Betsson A.B., an operator for whom Norway is a core market, said recently in its third-quarter results: "Betsson evaluation is that the proposed law is difficult to implement. If the law is adopted and comes into effect it would most likely affect Betsson negatively in the short term."