Norsk Tipping responds to our concerns about 24-hour betting during the World Cup by referring to channeling considerations, loss limits and its own accountability measures.
Read Norsk Tipping's article: This is why Norsk Tipping must be open at night during the World Cup – Norsk Tipping
We are calling for answers to the most basic questions:
- Why should the availability of gambling be increased precisely during the period when the risk is greatest?
- And why was this decision made without dialogue with the professional communities that work on the consequences of gambling problems?
The application for extended opening hours was exempt from public access.
We already requested information about the plans for the World Cup in March, but received no response. Now we know that the decision to open at night was made already in January and that the application process was closed to the public.
When we don't get information, we don't get the opportunity to prepare our users for what awaits them this summer.
The lack of information has also created unrest among those we serve. In our self-help groups, both players and relatives have expressed concern about the World Cup and the increased exposure to gambling that comes with such a championship. Several describe fears of relapse, increased pressure to gamble and difficult situations in a period where gambling offers are becoming more visible and accessible than usual.
Expect record-breaking playing activity during the World Cup
Norsk Tipping itself expects record-breaking gambling activity during the World Cup. At the same time, our users report that nighttime gambling, strong emotional experiences, alcohol use and easy access to betting are factors that contribute to risky gambling behavior and relapse. When control is weakened, impulses are given greater scope and many help services are unavailable, the risk increases.
The odds are one of the worst things
The development among young players is particularly worrying. More and more young people are reporting problems related to gambling, and the form of gambling that is most often highlighted is odds. When Norsk Tipping chooses to extend the opening hours for such games, it sends a signal of increased accessibility and normalization of gambling.
In a situation where more and more young people are struggling with gambling-related problems, the goal should be to reduce exposure and limit risk, not to make it easier to gamble more and more often.
That is precisely why we expressed our concern. It is then difficult to understand why the solution should be to make gambling more available at night.
For example, we don't remove speed limits because someone will drive too fast anyway. On the contrary, we set limits precisely because we know that the risk increases in certain situations.
Criticism becomes the problem
Instead of discussing our real concerns, we find that Norsk Tipping is largely trying to shift the debate to who is behind the criticism and how the matter was covered in the media. This is reprehensible. Criticism should be met with arguments, not with attempts to weaken the credibility of the senders.
Concerns from affected parties
We meet people every day who have lost control of their gambling, and families who live with the consequences. These are the people who are the source of the concerns. As it stands now, Norsk Tipping believes that these people should be sacrificed.
The risk lies in accessibility, exposure and impulses
Norsk Tipping presents 24/7 gaming as a necessary protection against the unregulated gaming market. The reality is that players move between the regulated gaming market and the unregulated gaming market. For players, the risk is not only about where they play, but also about accessibility, impulses and exposure.
Norsk Tipping highlights its loss limits as proof that the system is robust. At the same time, the company itself has said that several customers have contacted them ahead of the World Cup to have their own limits lowered and blocks lifted.
A sign that many are preparing to play more
For us, this is not an argument to feel safe, but it is a sign that many are preparing to play more.
When players want to weaken their own security mechanisms before a major championship, it should be a warning sign. Not a confirmation that everything is working as it should.
The second phone from Norsk Tipping
Norsk Tipping also refers to proactive conversations with players as an important accountability measure. Such conversations can have value, but they also raise a fundamental question:
How natural is it that the company that offers the games should also be the one that assesses the risk and intervenes when gaming becomes problematic?
Proactive conversations can be a supplement to prevention, but they cannot be used as an argument for making games more accessible. It becomes a strange logic when the solution to increased risk is presented as the gaming company contacting more of those who end up in the risk zone.
Supposedly to provide improved consumer protection
The exclusive model is justified on the grounds that it should provide better consumer protection than the unregulated market. That is precisely why there must also be room for critical questions when the company chooses to expand availability during a period of extra high risk. Is that why this was applied for and processed excluding the public?
We will continue to ask these questions.
