Norwegians bet nearly NOK 50 billion last year – E24

Norsk Tipping's market share within online casino games continues to increase.

It is clear that rising prices and increasing interest rates have not reduced Norwegians' interest in gambling in 2023.

In total, we bet NOK 49.4 billion last year, Norsk Tipping's latest accounts show.

This is an increase of about 2.7 billion Norwegian kroner over 2022.

7 billion again

Norsk Tipping is not like other companies. It is a limited government company, aiming to provide entertainment within a responsible framework. With a monopoly on offering a variety of gambling games, it was decided that all profits would go to charity.

The result in 2023 ended up being just over NOK 7 billion. Of this amount, 6.2 billion went to the so-called Tippenøkkelen Foundation, which distributes money for sports, culture and socially useful purposes.

794 million went to the so-called Grassroots participationGrassroots participationAn arrangement that allows the player to choose which team or association will receive a share of the bet42 million went to the teams and organizations that receive profits from Norsk Tippings Slot machinesSlot machinesProfit goals for bingo entrepreneursWhile 35 million went to measures to combat gambling addiction.

Casino at its best

Figures show that Norwegians spend the most money on what Norsk Tipping refers to as “Casino gamesCasino gamesOnline games based on random drawing under the umbrella of “KongKasino”». About $29.5 billion was spent on these games, about 60 percent of the total trading volume.

These games have a 95 percent prize share, Anne-Marit Selten, senior communications consultant at Norsk Tipping, tells E24.

– So, you buy 95 Norwegian kroner for a hundred, and Norsk Tipping is left with five pounds, she points out.

Although most of the money is spent on this type of game, Norsk Tipping wants as few people as possible to play it. The reason is that it is the category that causes most gambling problems. However, the company wants to introduce the games, to prevent Norwegians from being exposed to unregulated offers from foreign gaming companies.

– How do you know this works?

– Because our market share is constantly increasing, says Sletten.

She explains:

We started with zero percent of the market in 2014 when games launched, and after a decade of increasingly better government action against unregulated companies, most recently when ads disappeared from TV in 2022, we're now at nearly 67 percent. Of the stock market at the end of 2023, it rises.

Less for foreign gaming companies

Sletten reports that Norsk Tipping expects a further increase in its market share, after it was recently decided to block the websites of foreign gambling companies in Norway, which is called DNS blocking.

-Do you have any estimates of how much money Norwegians spend on such sites?

– less and less. in The entire gaming marketThe entire gaming marketSpecific to include Norwegian tipping, rixtoto, bingo, postcode lottery, pant lottery, games on ships and foreign sitesForeign companies now own approximately 9.8 percent of the total market. Five years ago the number was about . She says: 16 percent.

When asked how Norsk Tipping works to reduce the proportion of casino players, the communications consultant listed a number of measures. Among other things, casino games are not commercialized, and a number of restrictions have been imposed on them.

Lottery games like Lotto and Keno come in second place with sales of $11.8 billion, while 5.6 and 2.4 billion were played respectively on sports and instant games like Flax.

158 million on ads

Of the revenue of about NOK 50 billion, more than NOK 40 billion was distributed in prizes, according to the calculations.

The second largest item on the expense side is “other operating costs”, which amounts to NOK 1.42 billion.

Of this amount, 502 million went to operate facilities and machinery, while 224 million was spent on identity and payment solutions. 158 million were used for advisory assistance and fees. The same amount was spent on advertising.

– 158 million were spent on advertising, while 35 million went to measures to combat gambling addiction. What is the logic here?

– Gambling law stipulates How will the profit be distributed?How will the profit be distributed?It was decided that 0.5 percent of Norsk Tipping's profits will be allocated to measures to combat gambling addiction (Article 12 of the Gambling Act)The Ministry of Culture pays gambling money in accordance with the law, including the amount for measures to combat gambling addiction. Norsk Tipping has nothing to do with the distribution itself, Sletten says.

She stated that the company's marketing budget is not part of gambling funds, but is taken from operating costs.

– The Norwegian Lottery Authority makes sure it is not too big.