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Norway is on track to become one of the very few countries in Europe to maintain a strict gambling monopoly. In recent years, the Norwegian Gambling Authority (Lotteritilsynet) has significantly intensified its efforts against unlicensed gambling operators targeting Norwegian players.
The approach has been increasingly assertive. Influencers have been ordered to stop promoting gambling, operators have received warnings about administrative fines and DNS blocking, and in one high-profile case an influencer was effectively forced to leave the country.
For both operators and observers, this has created a clear impression: Lotteritilsynet is aggressive — and effective.
A closer look at how some of the most serious cases have actually played out, however, raises questions about what kind of effectiveness is being achieved in practice.
A landmark sanction in 2022
The most significant enforcement action came in September 2022, shortly before Lotteritilsynet received expanded powers under amendments to the Norwegian Gambling Act.
At the time, the authority imposed a daily administrative fine of NOK 1.198 million, to be levied for each day the illegal activity continued.
The sanction targeted the online casino Storspiller, operated by Trannel International Ltd, a company known for major international brands including Unibet, MariaCasino and Bingo.com.
As the daily fines accumulated, the total amount reached approximately NOK 21 million, equivalent to around EUR 1.8 million at today’s exchange rate.
At the time it was imposed, this was the largest administrative fine ever issued by the Norwegian Gambling Authority. That record has since been surpassed in 2025, when state-owned monopoly operator Norsk Tipping was fined NOK 36 million for regulatory breaches.
Based on statutory late-payment interest rates, the total exposure in the Trannel case may in practice be higher. The accumulated interest on the unpaid fine could amount to an additional EUR 700,000–800,000, although this figure has not been formally confirmed by the authorities.
Compliance without payment
Following the decision, Trannel gradually withdrew from the Norwegian market. Direct marketing towards Norwegian consumers ceased, and the Storspiller brand appears to have been discontinued entirely.
Correspondence between Lotteritilsynet and Trannel shows extensive dialogue from the moment the daily fines began accruing until the authority concluded that the illegal activity had ceased.
On that basis, Lotteritilsynet formally closed the supervisory case, citing compliance with the order to stop targeting Norway — not payment of the fine.
From the outside, the outcome appeared to confirm the effectiveness of Norway’s enforcement regime: the illegal activity stopped, and the operator exited the market.
But one key question remained unanswered.
An unresolved enforcement question
Was the fine ever paid?
Was the amount settled when Trannel exited Norway?
Was it addressed in connection with FDJ United’s acquisition of Kindred Group (Unibet)?
Or did the claim remain outstanding?
The answer matters beyond this individual case. It goes directly to how effective Norway’s gambling enforcement regime is in practice, and what level of financial risk unlicensed operators actually face when targeting Norwegian players.
The Kindred acquisition and the sale of Trannel
In October 2024, FDJ United completed its acquisition of Kindred Group, the parent company of brands such as Unibet and MariaCasino. At the time of the acquisition, Trannel International Ltd was part of the Kindred Group structure and served as the entity responsible for several international “.com” operations.
According to reports from French media outlets Le Monde and Gaming&Co, Trannel International Ltd was sold to the Sofia-based company Ventures Labs approximately three weeks after the acquisition was completed. The sale was described as part of FDJ United’s strategy to operate exclusively in locally regulated markets.
The administrative fine imposed by the Norwegian Gambling Authority was issued to Trannel International Ltd prior to the acquisition and remained outstanding following both the acquisition of Kindred and the subsequent sale of Trannel.
To ensure balanced coverage, iGamingToday has submitted detailed questions to FDJ United regarding how the unpaid fine was handled in connection with the transaction.
At the time of publication, FDJ United has not responded.
What the authorities say
To clarify the status of the fine, iGamingToday contacted multiple authorities, including Statens innkrevingssentral (SI) which is under the Norwegian Tax Administration. After repeated inquiries, Lotteritilsynet provided a written response.
The authority states:
“We have tried to get a clear answer from Statens innkrevingssentral (SI) about this to be able to answer you, because we are a bit unsure from what we can see from our access to information in the SI user portal.
From what we can see, Trannel has not paid the imposed fine, and they have not acknowledged the claim. The claim appears to be time-barred (obsolescence). The claim cannot be enforced with coercive power outside Norway.”
Aggressive signals — limited financial impact?
According to Lotteritilsynet, the administrative fine has neither been paid nor formally acknowledged, and the claim appears to be time-barred. The authority also confirms that the fine cannot be enforced outside Norway.
For years, both operators and observers have largely perceived the Norwegian Gambling Authority as aggressive and effective. Daily fines running into millions of kroner, combined with public warnings about DNS blocking, have sent a strong signal to the market.
In the Trannel case, that signal clearly worked in one respect: the operator stopped targeting Norway.
However, if administrative fines are imposed but not collected — and if such claims cannot be enforced against foreign operators without assets in Norway — the deterrent effect of daily fines becomes significantly weaker.
In practice, the enforcement mechanism appears to rely less on the financial penalty itself and more on the operational and reputational pressure created by the enforcement process. Once an operator exits the Norwegian market, the financial sanction may lose its relevance, even when the fine has reached record levels.
This raises a fundamental question:
If unpaid fines can ultimately become unenforceable, how effective are daily administrative fines as a long-term enforcement tool against foreign operators?
It is a question that goes to the heart of Norway’s gambling regulation — and one that iGamingToday will continue to examine.
