Norway’s monopoly regime is once again under fire from the state regulator, raising more questions about the future of the market.

Lottstift, the Norwegian gambling authority, is considering the issue of a penalty for Norsk Rikstoto – the country’s exclusive horse betting provider – in relation to a number of AML deficiencies.

An audit by Lottstift for the period between 6 February and 27 May 2025 has revealed a list of violations of Norway’s Money Laundering Act, which threatens Norsk Rikstoto with a fine of up to NOK 2mn (£150k) and an additional NOK 50k per day until “the deviation is corrected”.

What are the failures?
According to the investigation, the AML compliance team of Norsk Rikstoto consists of an insufficient number of people and relies on manual work procedures, which leaves “great” room for improvement in terms of automation and reducing the risks of errors due to overburdening workloads.

Another identified shortfall is Norsk Rikstoto’s customer risk assessments. Lottstift reported that the operator should make improvements as to how it classifies customers based on their risk profile, with the current distinction between monitoring and follow-up procedures not quite clear yet.

On the topic of risk management, the regulator also advised Norsk Rikstoto to conduct a review of its internal policies and ensure that the risk management process is harmonised across all departments.

Compliance documentation was another identified deficiency, with Lottstift stating: “Both the review of sample checks and what we observed during on-site inspections have shown that there is a lack of a systematic approach to documentation and logging of implemented measures, assessments and choices. We saw that some customers/cases have better descriptions of the course of the case than others.”

Finally, Lottstift focused on how effective Norsk Rikstoto is when reporting the implementation of audit recommendations, also identifying room for improvement there.

Atle Hamar, Director of Lottstift, commented: “They have deliberately set aside absolute legal requirements that should enable them to uncover and prevent money laundering.

“When they do not have good enough systems, the risk of them being exploited for money laundering increases.

“Money laundering is a serious social problem. We expect that a monopoly operator with over 170,000 players follows the law and has better control over how they will uncover and prevent money laundering.”

Lottstift lawyers say a fine is justified
Lottstift additionally released an official notice, where Tatyana Søreide Klepaker, Senior Legal Advisor for the regulator, reflected on whether a fine should be imposed.

According to Klepaker, the offences are pervasive and serious enough to suggest that a fine should be imposed.

“After a comprehensive assessment of the case….we find that a violation fine should be imposed,” she wrote. “Our assessment is that Norsk Rikstoto has good financial capacity, and that imposing the violation fee will not be disproportionately burdensome for Norsk Rikstoto’s finances.”

Norway at a crossroads
Besides Norsk Rikstoto, the regulator has also been closely monitoring Norsk Tipping – Norway’s state-owned provider of lottery, sports betting and instant games.

It has also found itself embroiled in controversy more than once over the last year, having been found violating multiple compliance standards – from AML breaches to marketing regulations.

With scrutiny over the two operators constantly piling up, the future of Norway’s monopoly market remains at a crossroads given that it will become the only monopoly regime in the Nordics after Finland transitions to a licenced market in 2027.

Swedish leisure and hospitality businesses have been advised of new licensing obligations governing the operation of slot machines in public venues, which see limitations on their hosting of slot machines based on annual turnover.

Under the new rules, restaurants will only be permitted to host slot machines if their annual food and beverage turnover exceeds SEK 1m (€100,000 including VAT), with one additional machine allowed for every extra SEK 250,000 in verified turnover. However, slot machine revenue must never exceed the restaurant’s dining turnover, a safeguard designed to reduce over-reliance on gaming income.

The reform follows Spelinspektionen, Sweden Gambling Inspectorate decision to end the former rules (LIFS 2018:9) applied by the Swedish Lottery Authority on casino gambling and slot machine games.

The intervention sees venue rules switched to a “modernised framework” – titled: “Regulations and General Advice on Slot Machine Gaming.”

Adopted from 1 December 2025, the new framework introduces clearer operational conditions for licensees servicing värdeautomater (slot machines) in hospitality and leisure venues, as defined under Chapter 5, Section 1 of the Gambling Act (2018:1138).

Further requirements demand that machines remain in full view of staff and under active supervision. They must be located within the licensed serving area, disconnected outside licensed serving hours, and cannot be positioned near ATMs or obscured spaces.

Similar provisions apply to bingo halls, where slot machines may only operate during bingo sessions and up to one hour before and after play, always under staff supervision.

Operators are also instructed to improve player-facing information, providing clear contact details, licence information, game fees, and references to responsible gambling resources such as Stödlinjen. Staff acting as spelombud (gaming attendants) must be trained in the Gambling Act, responsible gambling protocols, and player protection procedures.

Spelinspektionen’s Director General Camilla Rosenberg said the reforms promote “greater alignment between land-based and online gaming environments” and reflect the regulator’s ongoing efforts to modernise gambling oversight.

“These changes clarify the responsibilities of licensees and venues, ensuring slot gaming takes place in safe, supervised, and socially responsible environments,” the Inspectorate stated.

SIFS 2025:1 will come into force on 1 December 2025, formally repealing the LIFS 2018:9 framework and marking the first step in what regulators describe as “a complete renewal of Sweden’s gambling supervision entering 2026.

Prelude to sweeping 2026 reforms

In the closing months of 2025, Spelinspektionen has warned all Swedish licensees to prepare for a transformative 2026, during which several significant changes will reshape the country’s gambling governance.

Next year will bring modifications to the Gambling Act, tightening definitions of illegal gambling engagements and activities to strengthen enforcement against unlicensed operators. The government has moved to expand the scope of the Gambling Act to explicitly target illegal offshore companies operating in or accessible from Sweden.

The Ministry of Finance has endorsed a memorandum proposing the removal of the “directional criterion” from the Gambling Act — a long-standing provision that excluded games not specifically aimed at the Swedish market from domestic law. Its removal will allow authorities to pursue operators simply for allowing Swedish players to participate, regardless of geographic targeting.

Governance of Sweden’s gambling market will also be reinforced through new enforcement powers and a penalty framework granted to Spelinspektionen, giving the Inspectorate broader authority to issue sanctions, revoke licences, and increase penalties for non-compliance and conduct.

Of significance, Sweden will become the first EU nation to implement a complete ban on gambling with credit. Scheduled from 1 April 2026, all licensed operators will be prohibited from processing payments funded by credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans, or buy-now-pay-later services. The reform, championed by the government as a consumer-protection measure, aims to curb gambling-related indebtedness and strengthen responsible gambling safeguards.

The implementation of these measures will now fall under the leadership of Acting Director General Johan Röhr, who succeeded Camilla Rosenberg as head of Spelinspektionen on 1 November 2025, signaling a new phase in the Inspectorate’s direction and governance.

France’s leading online gambling trade association AFJEL has escalated its campaign against the rise of black-market gambling, urging authorities and media to confront the growing risks of an unregulated online casino sector that continues to erode consumer protection and state revenues.

The warning marks a renewed call from AFJEL for the French government to end the structural liabilities of the country’s gambling framework by regulating online casino gaming (iCasino) — a reform the association has pushed for since the relaunch of France’s regulated online gambling market in 2011.

The trade body has now taken its campaign directly into the French mainstream press, with its PwC-commissioned study published by Le Parisien and Libération, two of the country’s most prominent national newspapers.

According to the findings, 5.4 million French players are now active on unlicensed gambling sites, surpassing the 3.5 million users in the legal market and representing a 35% surge in two years. PwC estimates that the illegal market generated €2 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in 2025, causing fiscal losses of more than €1.2 billion annually.

AFJEL warns that France faces a “digital sovereignty crisis” as unregulated offshore operators — often tied to criminal networks — continue to capture consumers through aggressive social media marketing, oversized bonuses, and influencer sponsorships, all while avoiding taxes and player-safety obligations.

“These illicit platforms lure customers with outsized inducements, flood Facebook and Google with ads, and even manipulate search engines to make themselves look legitimate,” said Nicolas Béraud, CEO of Betclic Group and President of AFJEL.
“The magnitude of this problem proves that prohibition is not protection. The only solution is a regulated and controlled iCasino offer that restores trust, protects players, and ensures fair competition.”

AFJEL maintains that the continuing ban on online casinos represents a “structural liability” for France — one that undermines consumer safety and deprives the state of significant tax revenue.

“France cannot allow a sector that could be safely regulated to remain dominated by illegal sites,” Béraud continued. “We are demanding a swift and decisive response — to end this French anomaly and restore order to the market.”

The Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) — France’s gambling regulator — has adopted a cautious stance, warning that any potential opening of the iCasino market must be “carefully considered given the highly addictive nature of such products.”

While the ANJ has expanded enforcement powers and blocked over 1,000 illegal websites in 2025, AFJEL argues that regulatory measures alone are not enough.

“Despite ANJ’s commitment, the illegal market continues to grow,” Béraud added. “This is no longer a question of enforcement — it’s a question of political will.”