Norway’s gambling regulator, Lottstift, has revealed that a serious technical failure may have resulted in hundreds of public tip-offs about illegal gambling activities not being registered. This malfunction, which lasted for over a year, has raised concerns over the accuracy of future reports regarding the black market. The error, first identified in June 2025, had caused significant disruption to the regulator’s ability to monitor illegal gambling effectively.

The Glitch’s Discovery and Impact

Atle Hamar, the Director General of Lottstift, explained that the fault with the authority’s anonymous tip-off system had persisted since March 2024. The issue meant that tips submitted via the online form, which is crucial for maintaining anonymity, were not properly archived. “We depend on tips from the public, and people should have confidence that the tips they send will reach us. This is a serious mistake, and it took far too long for us to discover it,” Hamar stated.

Despite other avenues for submitting tips, such as email and telephone, the online tip-off form remains central to the regulator’s efforts to combat illegal gambling. This technical failure resulted in the loss of potentially crucial information about illegal gambling operators. During the period of the malfunction, some tips were still submitted through alternative methods, but they were not anonymous, which diminishes their usefulness in some cases.

Missed Opportunities for Enforcement

The glitch’s timing is particularly problematic as Lottstift‘s regulatory efforts are currently under intense scrutiny, especially with the increasing dominance of the black market. The missed tips may have contained valuable insights into illegal gambling activities or even misconduct involving foundations and voluntary organizations. Hamar confirmed that while 120 tips from the last two months were reportedly retrieved, many others were automatically deleted due to privacy regulations.

“We have managed to retrieve 120 tips from the last two months. However, the rest have been automatically deleted for privacy reasons. This means several hundred tips may be missing, but we do not have exact numbers,” he explained. This gap in tip-off data is a major setback for Lottstift’s ongoing efforts to combat illegal gambling.

Wider Concerns and the Black Market’s Growth

The lost tips come at a time when Norway is grappling with a rapidly expanding black market, which some experts argue is fueled by the monopoly held by Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gambling operator. According to international gambling regulators, this monopoly has inadvertently created a fertile ground for illegal operators, who often offer services that bypass Norway’s stringent gambling regulations.

The situation mirrors similar trends in other European countries, where stricter regulations have led to increased black market activity. A 2022 report by the UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) noted that black market gambling accounted for over 66% of all staked money, highlighting the growing influence of unregulated gambling operators. The report suggested that stringent affordability checks and advertising bans have had an unintended consequence of pushing more consumers into the arms of black market services.

Efforts to Prevent Future Issues

Following the discovery of the technical error, Lottstift has committed to improving its tip-off system to ensure that this situation does not repeat. The regulator is reviewing its processes to prevent similar failures in the future. “We will thoroughly review this and make the necessary changes to prevent something similar from happening again,” Hamar reassured the public.

In addition to this corrective action, Lottstift has been granted enhanced powers to tackle illegal gambling, including the ability to issue DNS and IP blocking orders against unauthorized gambling websites. These measures, however, may be undermined by the missed tip-offs, which could have provided critical intelligence for enforcement.