Norwegian Municipalities Take on Government Over Gaming Machines

In 2007 an opinion poll by MMI-Synnovate, a leading research company in Norway, found that 68% of Norwegians opposed the planned reintroduction of gaming machines by Norsk Tipping. At the time it led to around 200 local municipalities pushing the government to allow them to regulate gambling at a local level so that they could refuse the machines, a request denied by the government.

With opposition to the gaming machines climbing to 72% in the most recent poll this year, the independent pressure group Norwegian Policy Network on Alcohol and Drugs (ACTIS), identified a loophole in local alcohol licensing laws which would enable the municipalities to block the roll-out of at least a portion of the machines.

In March the General Secretary of ACTIS, Anne Karin Kolstad, sent a letter to officials of the largest municipalities informing them of their legal power to withdraw alcohol licenses from establishments that install gaming machines.

The actions of ACTIS have already led to 30 of the larger municipalities, which account for between 25% to 30% of the Norwegian population, to follow its recommendation and force bars and restaurants to choose between their alcohol licences or the gaming machines.

ACTIS's political advisor, Sten Magne Berglund, told Gaming Intelligence Group that the organisations pressure on larger municipalities has already had an effect. ACTIS now hopes that the Oslo municipality will also listen to public opinion and join their action. That would result in municipalities making up more than 50% of the Norwegian population taking part in trying to stop the gaming machines.

Mr Berglund said the opinion polls were conducted on a random sample of 1,001 adults and should therefore be seen as representative, and highlighted that opposition to the machines was steadily increasing across all age groups.

Norsk Tipping has sought to promote the social responsibility aspects of its new machines such as the mandatory cooling off period at regular intervals and maximum loss limits, however Norwegians still remember previous machines which were said to be a significant contributor to gambling addiction problems in the country.

Gaming Intelligence Group asked Norsk Tipping's information director, Remo Martinsen, why the company would seek to introduce the machines in the face of such opposition. Mr. Martinsen said Norsk-Tipping has and will continue to try and reach out to the Norwegian population in order to communicate to the them 'their benefits versus the previous gambling machines', but added that the planned roll-out into test markets at the end of June had failed to take place.

Of the 7,000 new gaming machines, approximately 2,000 are to be installed in venues which also serve alcohol.