Labour’s Victory Extends Norsk Tipping’s Monopoly

Labour’s Victory Extends Norsk Tipping’s Monopoly

Norway’s state gambling monopoly has survived another political test. The Labour Party’s success in the general election has secured the continuation of Norsk Tipping’s exclusive control of the country’s gambling sector, despite growing criticism over regulatory lapses and mounting calls from parts of the opposition for market liberalisation.

The election result saw Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and his Labour Party claim a second term, consolidating enough support from smaller centre-left allies to secure a slim but stable majority in the Storting. This outcome ensures the current system of state monopoly remains intact, at least for the coming parliamentary cycle.

While the Labour Party reinforced its position, the Progress Party emerged as the second-largest political force, doubling its share of the vote and claiming 48 seats with almost a quarter of ballots cast. The Progress Party has made no secret of its desire to end the monopoly and allow private operators into the Norwegian market. Its improved result reflects a shift in the political landscape, but without sufficient backing from other parties, its proposals will remain sidelined for now.

For Norsk Tipping, the election result is a reprieve, but it does not erase the controversies that have drawn public and regulatory attention over the past year. The state operator has faced a series of errors and technical mishaps that have raised questions about the quality of its oversight. A high-profile blunder in the Eurojackpot lottery incorrectly informed thousands of players that they had won large prizes, a mistake that prompted the resignation of Chief Executive Tonje Sagstuen.

Other issues quickly followed. A player was mistakenly credited with NOK 25 million through the KongKasino platform, and a separate technical failure meant that users of Apple devices were unable to self-exclude for a period of four months. The flaw went undetected by Norsk Tipping until a player reported it directly, sparking concern about the robustness of the operator’s internal monitoring systems.

The Norwegian regulator, Lotteritilsynet, has also identified draw irregularities in both Eurojackpot and the so-called “super draw,” where syndicates and gambling clubs were inadvertently given better odds of winning over several years. This resulted in incorrect outcomes across multiple draws, further undermining confidence in the monopoly’s ability to guarantee fairness.

Despite these controversies, the Labour Party’s stance on gambling regulation remains consistent. It views the monopoly model as a means to ensure public control over gambling revenues and to limit private profit from the sector. This position has underpinned Norway’s restrictive policy for decades, and the government appears committed to defending it through both legislation and enforcement measures such as payment blocking and DNS restrictions against offshore operators.

Still, the political debate is far from settled. Within the Conservative Party, voices like Tage Pettersen have begun advocating for a shift toward a more competitive model, suggesting that the monopoly may not be politically untouchable in the long term. The strengthened showing of the Progress Party only adds weight to the possibility that questions around liberalisation will resurface in future elections.

Regional developments make Norway’s position more unusual. Denmark and Sweden have already adopted licensing models, regulating private operators within competitive frameworks. Finland, historically closer to Norway in its reliance on a state-run monopoly, has now committed to ending that system by 2027 in favour of opening its market to licensed competition. Norway’s decision to hold firm leaves it increasingly isolated in the Nordic context, with only Iceland maintaining a similarly restrictive model.

For the next four years, Norsk Tipping’s position is safe. But the operator faces a significant challenge in repairing public trust and strengthening its operations to justify continued exclusivity. The system depends not only on political support but also on the perception that it delivers higher standards of integrity and player protection than a competitive market would. Recent failures have put that assumption into doubt.