SBC News

Norway’s state operator, Norsk Tipping, has been approached by the national regulator, Lotteritilsynet, over a potential breach of underage policies.

In a letter dated 15 May, Anya Therese Markhus and Monica Alisøy Kjelsnes – two of Lotteritilsynet’s legal advisors – requested answers to a total of nine questions relating to a series of reported incidents where minors were found to be engaging with Norsk Tipping.

The gambling authority was tipped off by a bank that had noticed “a large total amount” being transferred from a bank account of a person under 18, which flowed into a customer account registered with Norsk Tipping over a period of one year.

While the Norsk Tipping account was not registered under the underage person’s name, the regulator deduced that this is most likely a case where someone has lent his gambling account details to the minor.

A definitive proof of that would not only lead to a termination of the player’s account for breaching Norsk Tipping’s customer relation policies, but it would also spell trouble for the state operator itself, potentially leading to Gambling Act and Money Laundering Act violations.

Norsk Tipping has now been given two weeks to answer a set of nine questions, which mostly focus on the operator’s financial risk checks and how it ensures that its customer policies are not being abused.

Until these are answered and the investigation continues, “it is too early to determine what has happened” according to Tore Bell, Department Director at the Norwegian Gambling Authority.

Potential outcomes
If and when wrongdoing has been found, however, Lotteritilsynet has several avenues to enforce regulatory action.

For one, albeit the lightest measure, the regulator can issue a formal order for Norsk Tipping to immediately correct the violation by strengthening its age verification policies.

Another procedure would involve the implementation of daily fines until all compliance shortfallings have been addressed and dealt with.

Moving into the more serious repercussions, Norsk Tipping may be given a significant financial sanction based on a percentage of its GGR if Lotteritilsynet determines that underage gambling has occurred as a result of negligence.

The most severe measure would be the suspension or revocation of Norsk Tipping’s license, although this is unlikely due to Norsk Tipping being a state-owned operator.

Regardless, if an underage gambling violation is eventually found, this would threaten the operator’s existence in other ways. Norsk Tipping’s future is already hanging by a thread, with increasing political pressure calling for its abolition in favour of a free licensing regime. A violation of such significance would only add more negative attention.

Award-winning responsible gambling initiative ‘Behind the Label’ is set to return to French broadcasting this spring.

France’s Gambling Authority l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) confirmed that the campaign has been re-commissioned to run ahead of France’s tennis grand slam event hosted in Paris, Roland Garros, from 25 May to 8 June.

Utilising lived experiences, the campaign looks to present the harsh realities of problem gambling and create a deeper understanding of the human consequences faced through gambling addiction.

‘Behind the Label’ plays on different phrases that are typically placed on gambling advertisements, bringing those phrases to life using lived experiences.

This aims to make the messaging resonate with audiences through a strategy that “becomes stronger and less theoretical”, as ANJ puts it. The regulator added that the aim is to explain that “two lines at the bottom of an ad will never be enough to tell the story of the spiral of sports betting addiction”.

The move follows recent research from the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), stating that over 1.17 million French citizens are problem gamblers.

Having been introduced during last year’s UEFA Euro Championships and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the ‘Behind the Label’ campaign aims to help the ANJ raise awareness of the risks of gambling harm.

Looking further into the statistics provided by OFDT, within the 1.17 million French problem gamblers, around 360,000 people gamble at an excessive level.

Sports betting was highlighted as a major risk for problem gamblers in France due to the rate of excessive gambling (5.9%) found to be six times higher than for lottery games.

As this year’s campaign has been launched to coincide with the Roland Garros tournament, ‘Behind the Label’ will present visuals and messaging tailored to connect with tennis fans.

Running across TV advertisements and multi-media platforms, the initiative will also encourage players to make use of safer gambling tools like Evalujeu.

Evalujeu operates as an online service that allows individuals concerned about their gambling activity to assess their gambling behaviour and access tailored advice to stay in control.

Re-launching ‘Behind the Label’ will allow the ANJ to continue prioritising its objective of achieving a “drastic reduction” in the proportion of excessive players within three years.

It is important to note that since early last year, all licensed online gambling operators in the country have been required to submit their marketing strategies to the ANJ every six months.

The rule was introduced to demystify the scale and content of gambling advertising and mitigate its influence on vulnerable individuals.

The Senate of Romania has opted to prolong plenary discussions on comprehensive gambling reforms sought by the Save Romania Union (USR) party.
The extension was granted by the Senate’s Legal Committee following the conclusion of the country’s rescheduled General Election on 18 May. The election had initially been annulled in November 2024 due to proven incidents of foreign interference.

Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan won the presidential vote as an independent candidate, running on an “Honest Romania” campaign to end the partisan instability of Romanian politics.
Sworn into office on 26 May as Romania’s head of state, Dan has yet to appoint his cabinet of senior ministers and a Prime Minister charged with coordinating the government’s affairs and legislative agenda.

Mirroring its political backdrop, Romania’s gambling sector is navigating a period of instability due to the National Gambling Office (ONJN) being marred by scandals involving mismanagement, opaque licensing practices, and a perceived lack of enforcement against non-compliant operators.
A headline infringement emerged following an audit of ONJN covering the period 2019 to 2023, which revealed significant regulatory failures that may have cost the Romanian state approximately €1bn in uncollected taxes and fees — a charge that ONJN denies.

Overhaul of oversight
The USR is leading calls for a root-and-branch overhaul of Romania’s gambling sector, proposing that interim regulatory control be transferred to the Ministry of Finance and the National Tax Administration Agency (ANAF).

Sanctioned by USR Senate leader Ciprian Rus, the party has introduced two distinct bills designed to reduce harm and modernise regulatory oversight.

Bill 1 seeks to simplify self-exclusion for Romanian citizens, requiring ONJN to provide a prominent opt-out button on its website. This would allow players to immediately block access to online gambling operators, replacing the outdated process involving in-person visits and handwritten forms. ONJN would also be required to publish real-time statistics on exclusion requests to improve transparency and public accountability.

Bill 2 proposes a “hard ceiling” on gambling spend, limiting consumer outlay to no more than 10% of an individual’s declared monthly income.
Enforcement would fall jointly on operators, financial institutions, and tax authorities — placing affordability checks and data-sharing firmly on the agenda.
However, USR has faced criticism for submitting Bill 2 without adequate consultation with relevant agencies regarding the technical feasibility of implementing such checks and expenditure caps.

USR: New Government Must Fix Regulatory Shortfalls
The party describes Romania’s gambling sector as “a social emergency”, plagued by lax controls, inconsistent enforcement, and escalating harm.

Civil society, addiction specialists and public health experts have echoed the call for urgent reform, including stronger marketing restrictions, parental controls, and automated exclusion mechanisms.

“The state has a duty to intervene when individual freedoms risk turning into personal disasters,” stated Ciprian Rus.
“The ONJN has failed in its basic duty to protect the public. It has become a passive observer in an industry rife with malpractice, lacking transparency, accountability, and the digital tools required for modern oversight. This is why urgent structural reform is no longer optional — it’s a necessity.”

Senate delays reform review
Despite rising public concern, reform momentum has slowed — at least temporarily. The Senate’s Legal Committee voted to extend debate on the self-exclusion bill from 45 to 60 days, citing legal complexities.

“We are dealing with two expressions of will: the initial act of self-exclusion, and a potential retraction of that decision,” noted Committee Chair Ion Rujan.
“These raise fundamental questions about legal reversibility. More time is needed for a proper assessment.”

A full Senate debate is scheduled for 10 June. If passed, the legislation will move to the Chamber of Deputies for final approval.

The proposed reforms carry significant enforcement measures. Operators would be required to report exclusion data to ONJN under tighter deadlines, refund deposits made after failed exclusions, and could face fines of up to 100,000 lei (€20,000 )or licence suspension for six months if found in breach.

ONJN begins new chapter
The delay follows Romania’s turbulent presidential election, which concluded with voters electing Nicușor Dan on an anti-corruption platform. With Dan yet to appoint a Prime Minister or form a cabinet, legislative progress across multiple fronts remains slow.

However, changes are already underway at ONJN, which begins a new chapter under the leadership of Vlad-Cristian Soare, appointed President of the National Gambling Office in April, succeeding Gheorghe Gabriel Gheorghe.
Soare’s appointment, formally communicated to Romanian authorities, comes at a critical moment as the regulator faces intense scrutiny for past failings, in which Soare has vowed to adopt a tougher enforcement agenda.

Taking leadership of ONJN, Soare acknowledged the political sensitivities surrounding the regulation of gambling in Romania:

“My political colour is decency. That’s what I told my colleagues. I think that, beyond the differences, we need to remember what unites us: honest work, professionalism, balance.”

Despite procedural delays, USR remains unwavering in its push for change – “This legislation must move forward to meet public expectations and reassert regulatory credibility,” a party spokesperson said.

“The gambling industry can no longer operate unchecked.”

A trade association is encouraging the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to improve its strategy and policies and better support betting companies in using data and statistics.

The Institute of Licensing (IoL) put out a statement following the Commission’s publication of Gambling Survey of Great Britain (GSGB) data, gathered during the second year of the survey.

IoL argues that the UKGC needs to improve user confidence in the survey, and that a more detailed improvement plan is needed if the recommendations made by Professor Patrick Sturgis of London School of Economics, based on the survey, are to be adopted smoothly.

This should sit alongside a user engagement strategy and information on the quality assurance and validation processes of the GSGB, the IoL believes. The organisation argues that building trust among the GSGB’s users should be a priority for the UKGC.

The GSGB began in 2023 as a two year study of how Britons engage with the gambling sector, and how their behaviour may have changed during this time. This coincided with the review of the 2005 Gambling Act, party functioning as a means to support UKGC policy and guidelines, and industry best practice.

The second year datasets identified scratchcards, sports betting and online instant win games as being the most associated with higher risk. These products were the most frequently used non-lottery products, being used by 12%, 10% and 7% of respondents.

Additionally, the study has reiterated some points about the increasing digitisation of gambling, particularly among younger demographics, which are also more likely to engage with non-lottery products. The survey found that males aged 18-24 became the most active group, with a 47% participation rate, once lottery products were excluded.

These statistics, just some examples out of many, clearly give industry stakeholders across a range of disciplines a lot of food for thought. The IoL argues though that this can be built on further.

The association states that the UKGC should “consider how it can align further development of these statistics, including the detail that is provided and how it is presented, with user needs”.

Another issue lies in what stakeholders understanding of the survey is, and how it relates to the wider UK ambling ecosystem. The IoL is encouraging the Commission to look at how GSGB data can relate to other statistics, such as those derived from the Health Survey for England and the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey.

This is an interesting point given that the UKGC itself has often urged UK gambling stakeholders to make better use of data, and learn from other industries like the finance sector when it comes to data sharing and using stats to inform policy and practices.

“To benefit future statistics development and address diverse stakeholder needs, the Gambling Commission should broaden its stakeholder network and collaborate further with official statistics producers,” the IoL’s seventh recommendation read.

However, combining GSGB data with stats from the likes of the Health Survey for England could also lend more to the argument that gambling should be framed as a public health issue rather than a business one – something that neither the UKGC nor the government have committed to, though some campaigners including MPs are becoming more and more vocal in favour of this.

The Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC) and the Health Quality Assurance Organisation (OHQA) have joined forces to combat gambling addiction in Greece.

Greek authorities have agreed to a three-year Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to establish a new joint approach to preventing gambling addiction, while enhancing social support for those affected.

The cooperation will begin with the HGC and OHQA forming a ‘Coordination Committee’ to act as the supervisory body for the implementation of a new national strategy on gambling addiction.

OHQA Chief Executive, Christos Nestoras, stated: “The Memorandum of Understanding aims to deepen cooperation with the Hellenic Gaming Commission. The formation of a modern and functional framework based on scientific documentation, respect for citizens and practical support for those in need is a common goal of our bodies.”

Of concern, Greece is witnessing a growing problem of teenage gambling. A recent study by the Mental Health Research Institute (EPIPSY) found that 36% of first-year high school students in Greece gambled for money in 2024 — well above the European Union average of 23%.

Furthermore, 7% of Greek teenagers are already showing early warning signs of developing a gambling addiction.

The Memorandum outlines four key objectives: increasing public awareness around responsible gaming, implementing early risk detection methods, expanding access to counselling services, and developing treatment programmes and extended support systems for affected individuals and their families.

Dimitris Ntzanatos
Dimitris Ntzanatos, President of the HGC, hailed the agreement as a pivotal change in Greece’s approach to gambling harm.

“It is with great satisfaction that we inaugurate our new collaboration with ODIPY and we are delighted that we will be given the opportunity to achieve, through our coordination, the utilisation of know-how and the avoidance of bureaucratic obstacles, effective solutions to a problem with significant social and economic impacts,” he said.

The intervention arrives at a critical time for the country, with authorities working to combat teenage addiction. According to self-reported data, Greek teenagers have easy access to alcohol and cannabis, with 92% stating they can obtain alcohol without difficulty. The EPIPSY study also found a sharp rise in vaping among 16-year-olds, increasing from 43% in 2019 to 54% in 2024.

The research points to broader behavioural risks among Greek youth, including rising exposure to alcohol and drugs, and a growing preference for e-cigarettes and gambling. Experts warn that aggressive marketing and ease of access are key drivers behind these escalating trends.

These developments highlight the urgent need for coordinated public health and regulatory measures to mitigate the long-term consequences of youth addiction behaviours in Greece.