Norway-facing online gambling operators have formed a new industry association to press the government to rethink its restrictive gambling policy.

This month, European online gambling operators Betsson, Cherry AB’s ComeOn brand, Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) and the Kindred Group announced the formation of the Norwegian Industry Association for Online Gambling (NBO).

The new association will urge Norway’s government to abandon its monopolistic stance – which limits local punters to the state-run Norsk Rikstoto (race betting) and Norsk Tipping (sports betting and casino games) – in favor of a liberalized regime that would allow internationally licensed online gambling operators to apply for local licenses.

The NBO, which hopes to enlist other European Union and European Economic Area operators, has named Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm, Rikstoto former commercial director, as its secretary-general. The NBO will be chaired by Kindred’s public affairs manager Rolf Sims, a former Ministry of Culture veteran who helped craft Norway’s gambling policy.