The Norwegian Lottery Authority (Lotteritilsynet) recently issued a formal warning to domestic media, demanding that they stop promoting any form of illegal gambling operators. This warning comes as the Eurovision Song Contest and several major summer sports events are about to take place, which are often targeted by illegal gambling operators.
The regulatory body found that unlicensed gambling operators are exploiting media channels in two main ways: firstly, by sending press releases containing betting odds for events, and secondly, by purchasing online advertising space. Many media editors may unknowingly publish these contents, objectively helping illegal operators enhance their brand visibility.
"The media are actually unknowingly promoting these illegal platforms," said Hedvig Inderhaug, a lawyer for the Lottery Authority, "Although many editorial departments have become aware of this issue, they still need to be more vigilant." She explained that some media reports mention gambling companies without clearly marking their unlicensed status; even worse, some media websites directly link to gambling promotion pages, significantly lowering the threshold for the public to access illegal gambling.
The regulatory body specifically pointed out that technical vulnerabilities in programmatic advertising systems complicate the issue. This automatic advertising mode may bypass regular filtering mechanisms, leading to illegal gambling ads appearing on legitimate media platforms. Several such cases have been discovered recently, prompting authorities to ask the media to strengthen technical controls.
It is worth noting that the background of this warning is the continuous improvement of Norway's legal gambling market. The latest data shows that the market activities of unlicensed operators in Norway are decreasing, while the market share of licensed local operators is steadily increasing. Lawyer Inderhaug specifically reminded that according to the Norwegian Gambling Law, the media could face legal sanctions if they continue to provide channels for promoting illegal gambling.
