Major online e-wallets stop support for gambling payments In Norway

The gambling industry is one of the biggest industries in the world and it is increasing in popularity even more. It has become one of the most widespread activities, especially during the global pandemic. When almost every traditional venue is closed there is not much left for the players, but to choose the online gambling alternative.
With the increasing tendency of online casinos, the gambling operators are trying their best to offer gamblers a better experience and high-quality gameplay. This is also a great way to attract more players to the highly competitive online gambling industry.
With the ever-increasing gambling industry, the gambling operators and providers are trying to become more accessible and welcoming for the players. Thus, many governments and authorities have made one step further towards meeting the expectations and increasing the reliability of the providers.
While the approach of the companies and operators is becoming more and more tolerable towards the gambling industry overall, some of the unexpected moves have been made from electronics currency wallet giants such as Skrill and Neteller.
Two e-wallet giants recently made an announcement that they are no longer supporting online casino players from Norway. This was a huge change and a massive hit for both the operators as well as players.
There are only a few very trustworthy and reliable e-wallet operators in the market, and Skrill and Neteller are among those. Surprises are not always pleasant as it looks like.
The decision regarding leaving the Norwegian market was made in December of 2020. The early December announcement made the online casino, as well as the players, overvalue their operations and choices. The online casinos were given time only until the 8th of December to inform their customers regarding the upcoming changes.
The players on the other side had a period only until the 21st of December to cash out their winnings through Neteller and Skrill. From that date on, the Norwegian online casino players are not eligible to use the services from the e-wallet providers.

Limited Alternatives

It is a well-known fact that the gambling industry in Norway is quite limited and fully monopolized by the government. Despite this fact, the online gambling interest in society is increasing.
The strict regulations and laws regarding online gambling, limit providers in offering their services, and push local players to play with the illegal international casinos. Even the local casinos and the offshore gambling providers try to somehow escape the eye of the local authorities.
The main benefits of the e-wallet providers were the security of the transactions and the fast processing speed. Now, that e-wallet is no longer an option, players have to address bitcoin or ethereum casinos for online gambling. The crypto casinos are very popular among the online casino players, though none of the two Norwegian casino operators provide this opportunity.
On the other hand, this means that the local players can play online with cryptocurrencies, and stay anonymous from the local authorities, as crypto payments are not regulated by the government and are fully decentralized. This also means that the popularity of international and offshore providers will increase even more.
With this news, being official, the online casinos and the providers had the obligation to inform all of the customers regarding possible outcomes. Many affiliate websites took the responsibility to deliver the news to the customers and keep them up to date with all of the possible further changes in the regulations and the laws.
The news is definitely none the pleasant, and shall not be a positive change for the Norwegian government either. They have been struggling with identifying the offshore providers in the market and have introduced a number of limitations in order to avoid further popularity of the international online casinos. Now, they may have an even more difficult time dealing with the problem, though their future actions still remain uncovered.

The lost opportunity

With the highly regulated online gambling industry in Norway, the players do not have many alternatives to seek for the payment methods in general. So far, crypto gambling should find the best niche in the country, and perhaps the future of crypto gambling in Norway should seem brighter than it was for Skrill and Neteller.
Some countries and online casinos have recently introduced Bitcoin games and slots, which enable players to make deposits from their crypto accounts straight to the online casino account. This might be an alternative for the Norwegian players as well. Though, this once again proves the necessity of electronic currency wallets, which is already a missed opportunity for the Norwegian players.
Despite the fact that Skrill and Neteller have quit the Norwegian online gambling market, it does not mean that those two e-wallet providers are quitting the Norwegian market in general. They still support regular transactions and do not limit Norwegian e-wallet holders from using ATMs or any other services. Moreover, they will also be able to utilize Paysafe’s wallet crypto services in the near future.

The bottom line

Those kinds of changes are definitely not the best thing gambling industry representatives or players would like to hear, though coin never has one side to look at. The current challenges of the Nordic online gambling industry may stimulate other smaller e-wallet providers and local startups to work on the solutions and to offer the players some better options as an alternative.
One of the similar alternatives that have already popped up in the market, which is ecoPayz. So far, this is the only available alternative option for the Norwegian online casino players.
According to the previous observations and statistics, ecoPayz is definitely not the most popular choice for Norwegian electronic currency holders. Though it might be a completely new opportunity for both the company and the players. Hopefully in the future small companies like ecoPayz will not only be the only alternative, but also a viable option and valuable service provider.
The overall situation with online gambling in Norway is definitely not the one to point out, especially when we recall all the limitations and the regulations set by the government. It is very different from other leading countries all around the world. Though it is not hopeless and is definitely moving steps forward in order to make it more appealing to players and to make online gambling in Norway safe and sound on both sides.