Norway may legalize online poker. But there's a catch
While Brazil is banning online gambling, Norway is considering legalizing online poker for the first time in history. The country's Ministry of Culture and Equality has launched a public consultation on the matter, which will run until November 29.
Based on the results of this consultation, Norwegian authorities may somewhat loosen the existing strict restrictions on gambling. The proposal is that a regulated domestic online poker platform would be provided by the state lottery operator Norsk Tipping.
However, this proposal comes with a number of strict limitations. For example, the platform would not operate from 01:00 to 07:00. Players' spending would also be capped:
🟣 Maximum daily loss — 5,000 kroner (≈$520)
🟡 Maximum monthly loss — 10,000 kroner (≈$1,040)
🟣 Maximum monthly loss for players under 20 — 2,000 kroner (≈$207)
🟡 Maximum MTT buy-in — 2,500 kroner (≈$260)
🟣 Maximum cash game buy-in — 1,000 kroner (≈$104)
🟡 Maximum BB size in cash games — 10 kroner (≈$1)
Such limits may satisfy recreational players, but regulars who play international tournaments will have far fewer reasons to switch to the national platform.
As advantages of the platform, the Norwegian government cites the availability of protection and assistance in financial disputes, which players using unregulated poker sites do not have.
According to a survey conducted by the University of Bergen in 2022, around 90,000 Norwegians play online poker through foreign operators every year. Norsk Tipping currently estimates the number of players at 100,000–150,000.
It's worth noting that Norway has long been actively fighting foreign gambling sites. Payments to such operators began to be blocked back in 2010, and DNS blocking was introduced in 2025. Because of this, GGPoker stopped accepting new Norwegian players. In 2023, PokerStars and 888poker left the country's market, and Partypoker had done so even earlier.
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Based on the results of this consultation, Norwegian authorities may somewhat loosen the existing strict restrictions on gambling. The proposal is that a regulated domestic online poker platform would be provided by the state lottery operator Norsk Tipping.
However, this proposal comes with a number of strict limitations. For example, the platform would not operate from 01:00 to 07:00. Players' spending would also be capped:
🟣 Maximum daily loss — 5,000 kroner (≈$520)
🟡 Maximum monthly loss — 10,000 kroner (≈$1,040)
🟣 Maximum monthly loss for players under 20 — 2,000 kroner (≈$207)
🟡 Maximum MTT buy-in — 2,500 kroner (≈$260)
🟣 Maximum cash game buy-in — 1,000 kroner (≈$104)
🟡 Maximum BB size in cash games — 10 kroner (≈$1)
Such limits may satisfy recreational players, but regulars who play international tournaments will have far fewer reasons to switch to the national platform.
As advantages of the platform, the Norwegian government cites the availability of protection and assistance in financial disputes, which players using unregulated poker sites do not have.
According to a survey conducted by the University of Bergen in 2022, around 90,000 Norwegians play online poker through foreign operators every year. Norsk Tipping currently estimates the number of players at 100,000–150,000.
It's worth noting that Norway has long been actively fighting foreign gambling sites. Payments to such operators began to be blocked back in 2010, and DNS blocking was introduced in 2025. Because of this, GGPoker stopped accepting new Norwegian players. In 2023, PokerStars and 888poker left the country's market, and Partypoker had done so even earlier.
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