Norwegian state broadcaster NRK is no longer showing live draws of Norsk Tipping games, but why? Lottery Daily’s Senior Journalist, VIktor Kayed, takes a look at why the lottery has put a 40-year tradition to an end.
Much like NRK, Norsk Tipping is also state-owned. In fact, together with Norsk Rikstoto, it represents the only present gambling operator in Norway. In other words, an active monopoly.
For decades, live draws of the biggest Norsk Tipping games such as Lotto, Vikinglotto, and Joker were shown inside every Norwegian home through the NRK’s public broadcasting network.
Since 18 April, this has now officially come to an end, with live draws being shown on Norsk Tipping’s own digital channels instead, like the operator’s website and mobile app.
Everything else remains the same, Norsk Tipping assured, with broadcasting times and betting deadlines effectively unchanged.
Ingrid Roterud Mathisen, Lottery and Draw Manager at Norsk Tipping, commented: “The draws will be carried out as before, with the same presenters and content that the audience will recognize. The only change is where the broadcasts are published.
“It will be easy to find the broadcasts. They will be clearly marked on the front page of norsk-tipping.no and in the app ahead of each individual draw. If you want to watch the draws later, that is of course also possible, since completed draws are placed in a video archive.”
Why now?
With this being more or less the end of a historic chapter, it is only natural to ask why it was necessary.
Officially, both the NRK and Norsk Tipping have maintained the argument that consumer habits are changing, and that audiences are not what they used to be back in 1986.
Jan Egil Ådland, Head of Television at NRK, said: “The time is right to take this step. Audiences have changed their media habits, and we want to prioritise other content.”
Norsk Tipping has also argued that the move is a direct response to modern trends, where digital audiences now outnumber the pairs of eyes pointed at the TV.
Roger Soleim, Director of Customer Experience at Norsk Tipping, added: “The vast majority of our customers already follow the draws digitally, and this gives us the opportunity to develop new ways of communicating the results.
“Even though it is bittersweet to end a long tradition, new doors are opening. Our goal is the same as always: that customers can easily find the results, regardless of platform.”
Outside the official position, speculations remain around a completely different reasoning behind Norsk Tipping’s departure from NRK.
Over the last 12 months, the Norwegian operator has been entangled in a myriad of controversies relating to faulty tech infrastructure, customer checks – and most notoriously, false draws.
These draws were subsequently deemed invalid, leading to a large number of misled players, multiple investigations by the regulator, and erosion of trust in the state operator.
Therefore, with the above in mind, it could be that the state wants to disassociate these failures from the national broadcaster NRK, the reputation of which must be kept high given it is supported through public funding.
Soleim’s cryptic “new doors are opening” statement on the other hand could signal that Norsk Tipping is preparing to increase its investment into its digital presence, in order to create a product that fully incorporates what is expected from a modern online gambling platform.
After all, Norsk Tipping’s hiccups caused a wave of negative reactions at the political level, with some taking note of the fact that Norway will soon remain the only gambling monopoly in the Nordics and calling for the abolition of the state operator’s market exclusivity.
These are all speculations, however, and only time will tell what’s in store for the Norwegian gambling jewel moving forward.
