The European Gaming and Betting Association has urged an investigation into what it describes as “serious breaches of the privacy of Norwegian citizens.”
The EGBA says that a payment blocking scheme established by the Norwegian Gaming Authority to prevent unlicensed transactions is in breach of both Norwegian Data Protection laws and the European Convention on Human Rights.
According to the EGBA, the manner in which the NGA obtained account number information breaches the privacy protection rules of Norwegian citizens, including those without financial relation with online gambling service providers.
Martin Haijer, secretary general of EGBA, said: “Online data protection and the right to privacy are a major concern to all Norwegian and European citizens and rightly so. As more and more of our information goes online, we must be able to trust that our online data is protected.
“The data protection rules for online gambling companies are very stringent, and these companies are rightly expected and forced to comply with those rules – but the law requires the same from public authorities like the NGA. In this case we believe the NGA has made a clear breach of data protection rules which the Norwegian DPI should investigate and take appropriate action if necessary.”
