The Norwegian state-owned operator, Norsk Tipping, has been warned with fines of up to NOK 1m (£73k) over AML deficiencies.
The warning comes from Norway’s gambling regulator, Lottstift, after an investigation into the internal processes of Norsk Tipping concluded that despite a lack of any incidents, there are currently five compliance issues that increase the risk of money laundering breaches.
“Norsk Tipping has not had good enough systems to ensure compliance with certain provisions in the Money Laundering Act,” Lottstift said in a statement. One particular issue as per the regulator is insufficient collection of information when it comes to customer financial checks and the origin of the money played with.
Other deficiencies have been previously addressed by Norsk Tipping, Lottstift confirmed, but the final verdict is that there is still room for improvement.
Tatyana Søreide Klepaker, a Lottstift lawyer said: “We see positively that Norsk Tipping shows a willingness to address this, but the requirement came in 2018, and we expected them to have it in place.”
The operator has been given a deadline until 15 January to respond, after which the regulator will undertake additional action.
Norway sector at a crossroads
This is not the first time Norsk Tipping has landed in trouble with Lottstift. Both entities have been going back and forth on a constant basis throughout the year due to a number of violations that the regulator has constituted – one example is concerns over lack of sufficient underage gambling protections in place.
The ramped up scrutiny comes at a time when the political discourse in Norway has questioned the efficiency of the state gambling monopoly, as the country remains the only monopoly regime in the Nordics after Finland’s recent vote to move into a licensed market starting 2027.
A similar friction with the regulator can also be seen with the other state operator responsible for totalisator betting on horse racing, Norsk Rikstoto. AML deficiencies were identified there as well, with Lottstift announcing that it is moving forward with a NOK 2m fine and NOK 50,000 per day until the six violations have been addressed.
“They have deliberately set aside absolute legal requirements that should enable them to detect and prevent money laundering. When they do not have good enough systems, the risk of them being exploited for money laundering increases,” Klepaker concluded.
With no signs of the tension within Norway’s gambling market subsiding, the new year is shaping up to be a potentially transformative period for local regulations.