Norwegian gambling on the rise

2007-02-08 16:14:45

Both study groups and the Norwegian government itself are to research online gambling in the country as the numbers of citizens betting on the internet continues to rise, it has emerged.

The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (SINTEF) is to investigate the nature of the country's betting habits, Online-Casinos.com reports a Norwegian website as saying.

"The gross turnover in the (registered) Norwegian gambling market has increased by over 25 percent [since 2002]," Norwegian Lottery Board director Atle Hamar said in a SINTEF statement.

Revenues rose by $2 billion from 2002 to 2005, with 2006 figures expected to show another increase.

The study comes as the government is said to be considering a move to follow European trends and regulate the online gambling market. The growth in the market has led to success for Scandinavian companies such as Parbet.com, which was recently purchased by leading online software developer CryptoLogic.


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