Published
4 years ago on
June 12, 2019
Table of Contents
- How cryptos put that regulation at risk
- How the regulation failed
- How is Norway a lesson for others?
The Nordic state of Norway is one of the most developed and technologically assimilated countries in the world. Most of its industries are adapted to the digital era and are operating at maximum capacity without any fluke or issue to speak of over the course of a couple of years.
However, no matter how good the surface looks for Norway in terms of economy, there are some skeletons in the closet that the country doesn’t really want to talk about. Namely their gaming industry, which has been suffering suppressions on the highest level possible.
For one, many neighbouring countries such as the UK and Germany have accused Norway of restricting the gaming industry for serving political interests. This was due to the fact that the Norwegian industry is restricted to just 2 companies, which are state-owned. And despite the fact that Germany simply bans gaming in all its sense, it found the need to criticise their distant neighbour.
How cryptos put that regulation at risk
As already mentioned, there are exactly two companies that have the right to operate in Norway. Anything else is simply repulsed by the country’s firewall, but there are some platforms that are able to squeeze through.
However, the way the country usually finds these websites is through its own citizens. Once a citizen makes a transaction to an online gaming website, the firewall detects it and bans it in the region.
As explained by norskecasino.casino, ever since cryptos first appeared in Norway, people started to use them as their main currency for fueling their gaming habits, which is acceptable as long as it’s within reason.
Once the government found out about cryptos and the events occurring within their borders, they promptly banned any forms of crypto trading, which ultimately failed in a sense as citizens found newer and safer blockchain systems to use.
How the regulation failed
As of now, a large percentage of the population engages in gaming activities online with simply using cryptocurrencies as their main deposits, or just going for a VPN connection.
In fact, new websites are created every day that accept payments in Norwegian Krone. Why is the regulation not working?
You see, the law was implemented to manage gaming activity in the country, not remove it completely. That’s why the government entrusted the industry to only two companies it controlled. But a controlled company under regulatory pressure cannot provide the value Norwegians were looking for, which ultimately led to finding foreign operators.
The government knew that its citizens were registering on illegal platforms, but there was very little they could do. Making gaming legally punishable for the players would stir up the libertarian population to a point where political backlash would be inevitable. Therefore they simply allowed it to happen.
Ever since then, Norway has been notorious for using cryptocurrencies as a means to make payments on gaming platforms, and there is no end in sight. In the end, the only one that lost from the regulation was the government itself, as no tax gain is being made from foreign websites.
How is Norway a lesson for others?
Norway is a testimony to the fact that cryptocurrencies are a reliable way of avoiding government regulation that makes absolutely no sense.
The Norwegian government knew that the regulation was unmaintainable, yet it still tried to, without even enforcing it. All those costs of operating the state-owned companies would have been trumped if they simply allowed foreign companies to cater to their population under a license, even if the payments were only allowed in cryptocurrencies.
Overall, Norway teaches us that cryptocurrencies are able to fuel any industry in a country, be it within or outside of the legal barriers. The best thing a country can do is simply integrate the industry in the economy and at least benefit from it in an economic sense.
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