Finally, the ultimate guide to online betting in Norway is here. This page has a list of the top betting sites for people living in Norway who wish to bet on Eliteserien or forthcoming winter sports events.
Our honest list of your best options comes after we have reviewed and rated these sites for many hours, it also explains why many Norwegians like betting on international sports sites as well as an overview of gambling laws in Norway.
Norway’s economy is one of the largest globally, thus the nation’s population has more money to spend on non-essential basic needs. Gambling is a favorite hobby among Norwegians no matter if it involves poker, horse racing, or soccer games. Nevertheless, this passion for sports gambling and card playing as well as other events does not appear to be mutual for the government, which has imposed several strict laws in order to restrict gambling activities by its citizens.
The reasons behind these restrictions are to stop possible social problems that might arise due to excessive gambling, as well as protect the state’s betting sites. As prohibitive as they may sound, it is common knowledge that Norwegians circumvent the laws and gamble on other sports platforms they like most of the times.
Norsk Tipping is the place to go for those who want to try their hands on sports betting, lotteries and other similar games. For horse racing lovers Norsk Rikstoto, which happens to be a state-run bookmaker that covers Norway’s horse racing, provides the proper legal boundaries.
Most Norwegian bettors however prefer to place their bets on European betting sites because of the better odds it offers, bonuses, technology plus customer service, and a wider range to select from.
Despite the fact that the government of Norway has commanded banks to deny bank transfers and card payments for gambling purposes, these transactions still happen at many of our recommended sites.
Gamblers in Norway are spoilt for choice when it comes to depositing money into their betting accounts, there are several other common payment methods you will find listed in the cashier such as:
The current state of affairs is that Norwegian nationals are not taxed on their gambling proceeds, as long as these were obtained through Norsk Tipping or Norsk Rikstoto. There is no tax on winnings obtained locally; however, players must reveal gains exceeding 100,000 NOK (over £9000). Why should governments be making people to keep a record of their winnings? Perhaps governments would like to know the extent to which the population is gambling and how much they are making from it.
Foreign winnings are not exempted from taxes as is the case with some domestic betting.
Nevertheless, the tax situation is a dilemma for people who gamble on sports or play games online since, in principle, it is against the law; therefore, declaring their profits would amount to an admission of guilt. Quite bizarre! Anyway, any winnings above 10,000 NOK will be charged at 24%, which constitutes a heavy charge.
Despite football being the most bet by Norwegians, there is a variety of sports that are loved by citizens of this Scandinavian country. Some insist that Norwegians come into the world already having skis on their feet and it is no wonder Norway is a nation of winter sports. Handball and horse racing are also very popular.
Norway has football as the most popular sport. One out of every ten people participate in it, making it rank first in terms of participation. The top tier football league in Norway is called Eliteserien and consists of 16 teams such as Rosenborg and Viking who vie for honors annually. Besides these, there are also best sports betting sites in Norway which have competitive odds on elite leagues across the globe including English Premier League and La Liga.
Despite being the sport with the highest number of participants, football is no longer the most popular sport in terms of viewership since other sports such as biathlon and cross-country skiing have more followers. It is not surprising that winter games are important in Norway given its climatic conditions while at the same time skiing is a popular activity in this Scandinavian country. In all these disciplines there have been many world champions and Olympic medal holders from Norway.
As Scandinavian countries go, Norway is no exception; handball is a huge deal there. Wagering sites have provided game lines for both the men and women’s Eliteserien leagues. Women’s Handball has been dominated by Norway for years, who are European Champion, World Champion and Summer Olympics Title holders several times over. Until now, the men’s national team has snatched two World Championship titles (2017 and 2019).
Although horse racing is a popular sport in Norway, the races are not the same as those involving thoroughbreds elsewhere. The game of choice here is harness racing where jockeys are seated in small chariots positioned directly behind their horses, and have to steer them and urge them on to win. Rikstoto Direkte telecasts many races live.
When it comes to gambling and betting activities in Norway, Norwegian authorities have always been quite keen and the earliest piece of legislation regarding betting can be traced back to 1902. That was when the government imposed the Norwegian Penal Code, which stated that just those with a particular license could engage in the game of chance. Such licenses were hard to get thus enabling authorities create a monopoly over the entire gambling industry.
Norway then passed the 1927 Totalisator Act, which continued from the first legislation. This act gave Norsk Rikstoto monopoly over horse racing betting in Norway. The rules and regulations of betting remained largely unchanged for most of the rest of the 20th Century until the introduction of the Gaming Act in1992.
Norwegian government granted Norsk Tipping monopoly on operating football, lotto and other sports betting in the country through implementation of the Gaming Act. The governmental implemented a more detailed piece of legislation three years later in 1995 called “the Lottery Act” that regulated all games like Lotto and others for gambling purposes.
By mid 2000’s, the rapid technological advances rendered the existing laws irrelevant in order to such an extent that the government completely banned slot machines and replaced them with video terminals owned by Norsk Tipping. By restricting customers to the video terminals, those in authority could restrict expenditure on video slots by requiring payment through a special card which was subjected to daily limits.
The government followed up by banning online gambling in the country, almost after introducing regulation in 2008 that targeted slot machines. However, this did not stop Norwegian gamblers from using leading gambling platforms across the globe as most of them continued to accept new registrations despite the ban.
Despite such trials, in 2010 the government made a significant move to protect citizens from engaging into illegal gambling with foreign bookmakers. Inspired by the United States’ approach, the Norwegian government passed legislation that banned all monetary exchanges between Norwegians and foreign bookies and thus attempted to curb their usage of debit cards or credit cards on multiple websites.
Notwithstanding, it does not mean that this has stopped Norwegian bettors from patronizing foreign bookmakers, as A) e-wallets have rapidly gained acceptance among both punters and betting firms thereby giving them an alternative B) banks were not unduly rigorous in their oversight of transactions which meant many made it through despite being gambling associated.
Norwegian authorities always desired to control the level of gambling taking place amongst its people. Despite relatively recently putting new legislation and regulations into effect, it seems to be a lost cause as the number of online bookies is increasing at an alarming rate, which would even be hard for authorities to contain by blocking IP addresses for good.
It is foreseeable that Norwegians will still be able to bet with their preferred bookmaker, but the winners might opt to calculate their income for tax purposes and let the government know about it.
As of now, only Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto offer betting services to the Norwegians. However, a lot of gamblers in Norway choose offshore sportsbooks due to their higher starting rewards and more favorable odds on various types of games.
In spite of directives from the Norwegian government to banks, most sports betting sites in Norway accept these payments. E-wallets (Skrill and NETELLER) and prepaid cards like paysafecard are also common methods of payment.
Certainly! Norsk Tipping, for instance, offers a free bet to its newly registered customers which gives you an opportunity to have a feel of their software and make your first bet without making a deposit. There are websites where you can get offer back if you loose your initial stake.
A.It is however specified by the gambling laws in this country that those placing real money bets at Norsk Tipping, including scratch tickets, must be older than eighteen. Nonetheless it is forbidden to gamble on sports below 18 years of age.
