The Norwegian Poker Trend Operators Should Embrace

Under Norwegian law, the only online gambling and online poker trend that there should be is which games are being played the most at the government’s gambling monopolies, Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. But, Norwegians have discovered that they can, with relative ease, break away from the limited offering of the monopolies to explore the diverse world of online gambling.

Having seen the websites that the formerly variety-starved players have converged upon, it’s clear that they know what they want, with this desire possibly being a strong indicator of the future of online gambling.

The state of play in Norway

Source: Pixabay

The only services allowed to offer gambling services to the citizens of Norway are the state-owned and industry-run monopolies Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. Due to the restrictive rules in place for commercial operators who wish to attain a partial gaming license as well as the percentages of profit that must be given to Norsk Tipping and good causes (65 percent in total), it simply isn’t viable to set up shop in Norway.

However, because the government hasn’t followed through with attempts to block the IP addresses of foreign online gambling websites, the players of Norway have access to these gaming sites and aren’t prohibited from doing so under current regulation. Due to the very limited nature of what’s on offer from Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto, many Norwegian gamblers exercise their chance to play elsewhere.

Norwegians pilling onto complete offerings

Source: Pixabay

One of the favored online gambling activities of the Norwegian public is that of playing poker. Sports betting and casino gaming are also enjoyed, but online poker is greatly sought-out across the country like it is in so many other countries across the world. Similarly to Chris Moneymaker being the first online player to win the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2003 and subsequently sparking the poker boom, Norway’s love of poker will have been fuelled by Annette Obrestad winning the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event in 2007.

While many online poker players converge on the big-name brands which only offer poker, Norwegian players have been found to amass at websites that offer poker, casino gaming, and sports betting all in one, like Guts Casino. This could be because the Norwegians have come to prefer the perhaps more casual poker playing audience at a varied gambling website compared to a big-name brand, or maybe even because they’re used to such a small offering that they appreciate having so many high-quality forms of gaming all in one.

When it comes down to it, however, consolidating gambling activities looks to be the way of the future. While not many operators offer decent poker lobbies alongside their gaming and betting as Guts does, convenience is proving to be king in gaming. The rise of the hybrid console Nintendo Switch shows that people want to be able to play triple-A console games wherever they go, and the fact that market researchers like NewZoo find that mobile gaming now dominates the industry further shows that people want their gaming to be as convenient as possible.

Whatever the reason for many Norwegian poker players converging on the more complete gambling offerings, it looks to be the way of the future. People who have been gambling online and had a wide range of choices for a long time may have already committed to sole-purpose websites, but more and more of the new players are looking for convenient, one-stop offerings where they can enjoy poker, slot machines, roulette, and sports betting all on one website or in one app – a notion which operators should embrace to edge ahead of the competition.