Online Poker & Casinos Boom in Norway

While 2003 will always be viewed as the year of the poker boom that attracted hordes of U.S players to poker and also online casino sites in Norway (and all around the world), most people will tell you that those glory days are long gone and way, way back in the rear view mirror of gaming history.

But are they?

Evidence suggests that a number of countries are experiencing an online gambling boom of their own, with Norway at the top of the list. Thanks to changed gambling laws recommended by the nation's Ministry of Culture just a few years ago, Norwegians are making their way to online poker and gambling sites like Unibet and Norsknettcasino.net in large numbers.

That change in gambling legalization, for both live and online action, resulted in the Norwegian Poker Championship being held on home turf - legally - for the first time ever in 2015. Previously, the event had been held in England, Latvia, Sweden, and Ireland due to outdated gaming laws in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

Breaking Records

A record turnout of 1,973 players for the Main Event at the Thon Hotel in Gardermoen, an Oslo suburb, proved that Norwegians were clamoring for legal poker games. That 2015 championship may have been ground zero of Norway's poker boom as the prize pool swelled to over $1 million and more than 100,000 people watched some five dozen hours of poker programming of the championship on local pay TV - a record for a poker event.

Adding to the fans' delight was that Felix Stephensen, born in Oslo in 1990, won the tournament and the first place prize of 1,405,150 NOK ($162,497). Stephensen joined the ranks of Norwegian poker pros such as Thor Hansen, Johnny Lodden, and Annette Obrestad, top players who have a large following in their home country and elsewhere.

Current Action

Fast forward to just a few years after the excitement of Norway's first live poker championship to present day action and we find that Norwegians are satisfying their cravings for poker and gambling by visiting online gaming sites. In addition to poker, players are betting on sports as well as hitting the online blackjack and roulette tables at Norsk Nettcasino, aiming for winning sessions against the house when not involved in peer-to-peer poker competition.

The crypto-currency Bitcoin has also found its way to gaining popularity among a certain segment of Norwegian gamblers. The country's largest exchange, Bitcoins Norway, allows gamblers to deposit rapidly and at modicum fees compared to using credit cards.

The online poker and gambling boom may have come and gone in the U.S. and other nations due to restrictions put in place by government authorities. But other areas of the world such as Norway are in the midst of a poker boom selective to their region, much to the delight of Norwegians who have long had a penchant for gambling.