Norway continues to expand one of Europe’s toughest anti-gambling enforcement systems, blocking dozens of unlicensed betting and casino platforms through internet providers. The Norwegian Gambling Authority, known locally as Lotteritilsynet, now relies on DNS blocking to cut off offshore operators targeting Norwegian players without a license.
The system works by ordering internet service providers to redirect users away from blacklisted domains. Anyone trying to reach a blocked site lands instead on an informational page explaining why the platform is illegal in Norway.
Lotteritilsynet issued its first blocking order in April 2025, targeting 57 websites tied to 23 companies. The regulator has expanded that list steadily since, with a further blocking round confirmed in February 2026 bringing the total to 236 blocked domains within roughly a year.
Correspondence between Lotteritilsynet and the Ministry of Culture, dated June 12, confirms the scale of the crackdown across just twelve months of enforcement. Officials describe the figures as evidence of both progress and the scale of the challenge still facing regulators.
Many of the blocked operators have simply moved to mirror domains or alternative web addresses to keep serving Norwegian customers. This cat-and-mouse dynamic has become a defining feature of the country’s enforcement strategy since DNS blocking began.
Lotteritilsynet lawyer Silje Sægrov Amble has defended the approach publicly, arguing that reducing access directly reduces gambling-related harm among Norwegian citizens. She said “blocking illegal websites will help fewer people develop gambling problems,” pointing to high-risk games as the primary concern.
Amble has also acknowledged a gap in public awareness around which operators actually hold valid Norwegian licenses. Surveys cited by the regulator suggest roughly half of Norwegians cannot correctly identify approved gambling companies from unlicensed ones.
Norway’s blocking regime sits alongside older enforcement tools that predate DNS filtering by well over a decade. Payment blocking rules introduced back in 2010 already require Norwegian banks to refuse transfers tied to unauthorised foreign gambling operators.
A ban on gambling advertisements broadcast into Norway from abroad followed in 2021, closing another route operators once used to reach local players. Officials describe the DNS blocking system as the natural next step after advertising and payment channels were already restricted.
In November 2025, Lotteritilsynet added a further 178 domains to a preliminary list under consideration for future blocking orders. The regulator stressed that no blocking had yet taken effect for those sites, and it invited feedback from both internet providers and the gambling companies involved before deciding.
Crypto casinos have emerged as a growing headache for regulators trying to close off every payment route into the country. Norway has an estimated 550,000 cryptocurrency owners, representing roughly 12 percent of the adult population, and a rising share are funding offshore gambling accounts with digital assets.
Lotteritilsynet does not recognise cryptocurrency as a valid payment method under Norway’s Gaming Act, meaning crypto-only casinos cannot obtain a Norwegian license under any circumstances. That legal gap has not stopped unlicensed platforms from marketing directly to Norwegian players willing to transact in Bitcoin, Ethereum or Tether.
Because standard bank transfers, debit cards and payment apps face mandatory blocking under Norwegian law, crypto has become an attractive workaround for players seeking offshore platforms. Purchasing crypto through a licensed Norwegian exchange typically triggers no gambling-related flag, since the transaction reads only as a routine crypto purchase.
Some unlicensed operators actively promote this route, advertising minimal signup requirements and no Norwegian ID verification at the casino itself. Identity checks in these cases occur only at the exchange level, leaving the gambling platform largely outside any local oversight.
It remains legal for individual Norwegians to gamble on foreign websites, even unlicensed ones, under current interpretation of national law. The legal exposure falls instead on the operators themselves, who face blocking orders and reputational consequences rather than the players who use their services.
Norway remains close to the last Scandinavian country still operating a strict state monopoly over gambling, run through Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. Some opposition politicians, including Høyre’s Tage Pettersen, have pushed for a more open licensing market, though the monopoly structure has held firm so far.
Regulators appear set to keep expanding both the blocking list and payment restrictions as offshore operators adapt their tactics. Whether DNS blocking alone can meaningfully suppress demand for unlicensed platforms, particularly crypto-friendly ones, remains an open question for Norwegian authorities heading into the rest of 2026.
