PokerStars officially withdrew from the Norwegian market on Thursday for “commercial reasons.” [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Many fans of online poker in Norway are now looking for a new platform. PokerStars, a company owned by Flutter Entertainment, no longer accepts players from the country and ceased its Norwegian operations on Thursday after more than two decades in the market. The operator cited “commercial reasons” as the reason for the exit.
Users in Norway will still be able to access their accounts and withdraw any funds for some time.
Numerous other online gambling providers, including the brands bet365, Betsson and Kindred, had also previously decided to leave the Norwegian market. The legal framework for online gambling in the country is the reason why operators are leaving the country in droves.
The Norwegian Gambling Authority announced in September that all unlicensed platforms still operating in the country would be subject to significant fines. Norsk Rikstoto and Norsk Tipping currently have a monopoly on the country’s licensed gambling scene.
Parliament has given the regulator additional powers to enforce the crackdown
The Norwegian parliament has given the regulator additional powers to enforce the crackdown, including blocking the IP addresses of these websites and ordering Norwegian financial institutions to stop processing payments.
