Guide

Poker With Crypto From Norway

Only Norsk Tipping may offer online gambling in Norway and foreign sites are blocked, yet a player commits no offence. The NOK 10,000 tax rule and more.

The short answer

Norway has a state monopoly, not a ban on players. Offering gambling to Norwegians without a licence is illegal and the state blocks the payments and the websites, but a private person who plays on a foreign site commits no offence. The duties that remain are the tax return and the knowledge that no Norwegian authority will help you with a dispute. In October 2026 the government proposed letting Norsk Tipping run online poker with low limits.

Read on 31 October 2026 from the sources at the bottom of the page. We are players, not lawyers; this page is what the law and our sources say, not legal advice.

At a glance

The law: The Gambling Act, pengespilloven, with Norsk Tipping as the only company allowed to offer online casino games and betting, and Norsk Rikstoto for horse racing. Amended on 14 May 2024 to allow DNS blocking of unlicensed sites.
Players: Not an offence. The 2025 Norway chapter of the Brækhus gaming guide puts it plainly: it is not illegal for Norwegians to gamble on foreign remote gambling platforms; the law penalises operators, not players.
Blocking: Since June 2010 banks must block card payments to gambling operators. Since 2025 internet providers must block the domains of unlicensed gambling sites when the Gambling Authority orders it.
Tax: Winnings from Norsk Tipping, Norsk Rikstoto and comparable non-profit EEA games are tax-free. From commercial foreign operators, single winnings of more than NOK 10,000 are as a rule taxable and must go in the tax return; winnings that amount to a business are always taxable.
Poker at home: Allowed since 2015 between friends in a private home, with fewer than 20 players and limited stakes, as long as it is not organised or professional. The annual Norwegian Poker Championship has run under licence since 2014.
State poker: On 3 October 2026 the Ministry of Culture and Equality opened a consultation, until 29 November, on letting Norsk Tipping offer online tournaments and cash games with a daily loss limit of NOK 5,000, a monthly limit of NOK 10,000, a maximum buy-in of NOK 2,500, a maximum big blind of NOK 10, four tables at once and no play between 1 and 7 in the morning.

A monopoly that binds operators and banks, not players

Norwegian gambling law gives Norsk Tipping the sole right to offer online casino games, betting and number games, and Norsk Rikstoto the horses. A foreign company that takes bets from Norway without a licence breaks the law, and the state has built two walls against it: since June 2010 Norwegian banks must refuse card payments to and from gambling operators, and since 2025 the Gambling Authority, Lotteritilsynet, can order internet providers to block the domains of unlicensed sites, a power added to the Act on 14 May 2024. The Authority says itself that not every site is blocked and that new ones keep appearing.

The player is on the other side of that wall. The Brækhus gaming guide for 2025, asked whether the law penalises the gambler for taking part in unlawful gambling, answers no, and states that it is not illegal for Norwegians to gamble on foreign-based remote gambling platforms. The Authority's own warning is about protection, not prosecution: on an unlicensed site you have none, and no Norwegian authority can help you with a dispute over winnings.

The tax return

Winnings from Norsk Tipping, Norsk Rikstoto and from EEA lotteries and games comparable to the Norwegian ones, where the profit goes to good causes, are tax-free. Winnings from commercial foreign operators, which is what a poker room is, are taxable when a single win is more than NOK 10,000, and they go in the tax return as ordinary income. The Tax Administration also asks that tax-free winnings over NOK 100,000 be reported. Keep the records; you do not send them, but you must be able to show them.

A poker win is counted per win, so a tournament cash of NOK 12,000 is reportable and a hundred small cash-game sessions are a question for the Tax Administration rather than for us. What we will say is that a player who treats this as a business is taxed as one, with the income and the costs in the business part of the return.

Norsk Tipping poker, the 2026 proposal

On 3 October 2026 the Ministry of Culture and Equality opened a public consultation on letting Norsk Tipping offer online poker, tournaments and cash games both, with the consultation running to 29 November. The limits in the proposal are a daily loss limit of NOK 5,000, a monthly loss limit of NOK 10,000 (NOK 2,000 for players under 20), a maximum tournament buy-in of NOK 2,500, a maximum cash-game buy-in of NOK 1,000 with a big blind of at most NOK 10, four tables at once, and no play between 1 and 7 in the morning. Norsk Tipping estimates that 100,000 to 150,000 Norwegians play online poker with foreign operators each year; a University of Bergen survey put it at close to 90,000 in 2022.

For a recreational player the state game may be enough, and it comes with Norwegian consumer protection. For anyone who plays the $55 Sunday Showdown or sits at a $1/$2 table it is not the same game, which is the point the poker press made the week it was announced. Nothing is decided until the consultation is over.

What this means for a Norwegian who plays abroad

Playing on WePlay or Basepoker from Norway is not an offence. The card ban is a rule for banks, which is why a Norwegian who plays abroad funds the account some other way, and USDT bought on a Norwegian exchange such as Firi, which is registered with Finanstilsynet, and sent to the room's cashier is one such way; the deposit walkthrough shows the steps. The two duties that come with it are the tax return for any single win over NOK 10,000 and the knowledge that you are outside Norwegian protection if something goes wrong at the room. Both rooms name their licence, Anjouan for WePlay and Costa Rica for Basepoker, and our reviews say what we have seen of how they pay.

Time zones

Norway is UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer, so a 20:30 start on WePlay's GMT+2 schedule is 19:30 in Norway in winter and 20:30 in summer. The Tonight page shows every start in UTC.

What runs tonight at WePlay and Basepoker, in UTC.

Sources

Questions

Is it illegal to play online poker from Norway?

No. The law and the blocking are aimed at the operators and the banks; a private person who plays on a foreign site commits no offence. Only Norsk Tipping may offer online gambling in Norway, and the state blocks card payments to foreign operators and, since 2025, their domains.

Do I pay tax on poker winnings in Norway?

From commercial foreign operators, yes, when a single win is more than NOK 10,000; it goes in the tax return as ordinary income. Winnings from Norsk Tipping, Norsk Rikstoto and comparable non-profit EEA games are tax-free.

Will Norsk Tipping offer poker?

It is proposed. On 3 October 2026 the ministry opened a consultation, until 29 November, on tournaments and cash games with a daily loss limit of NOK 5,000, a monthly limit of NOK 10,000, buy-ins up to NOK 2,500 and big blinds up to NOK 10.

Can I play poker at home in Norway?

Yes, since 2015: a private home, friends, fewer than 20 players, limited stakes, and nothing organised or professional. The Norwegian Poker Championship is the licensed live event, held every year since 2014.