Football is the global game and Norway could be no exception to that. Despite the fact that football is played as a summer sport (late March to early November) because of the weather in Norway, it is the most popular sport in the country in terms of active membership, as there are almost 400,000 licensed players. It is interesting that most football fans in Norway are equally fond of their national leagues as they are of the Premier League.
The average Norwegian fan will support his favorite domestic club and his favorite English club with the same enthusiasm and passion. This, of course, is followed by a corresponding passion to place bets on the games of their favorite teams so that they add a little extra to the excitement of just watching them. Lucky them, as there is such a wide variety of bookies Norge options to choose from.
Success on the international level
Norwegian teams do not have much success on an international level nor has the men’s national team participated in the World Cup since 1998 or in the European Championship since 2000. Nevertheless, the interest of the Norwegians in football keeps growing as there are quite a few players who have crossed the borders and advanced their careers playing for top European leagues. The names of Tore Andre Flo, John Carew, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, John Arne Riise and more recently Erling Braut Haaland are anything but unknown to football fans all over the world, let alone people in Norway.
Their participation in football clubs abroad has resulted in Norwegian fans developing an additional interest in these clubs and their respective leagues. Norwegians have an extra reason to follow and place bets on the games of foreign clubs that might otherwise have been indifferent to them. This, of course, leads to the need of finding the best odds sider as well.
Betting services
The current arrangement in Norway allows offshore operators to provide betting services in the country, with the only couple of domestic services permitted to operate being state-owned. This creates a pretty competitive environment which allows players to check the odds offered by the various bookmakere Norge and decide which one suits them better.
It goes without saying that companies that are active in the country are also involved in offering odds for other popular sports, such as cross-country skiing – which is still the national sport – or ice hockey, a sport in which several Norwegian players have excelled playing abroad, or biathlon which is followed by the masses due to the international success of the country. Still, it is football that leads the way.
What the future holds
As long as the Norwegian FA continues to make sure that new stars will emerge on a regular basis supporting projects like the Player Development Project, for instance, the interest in football as a sports activity and betting on football will continue to grow. Let’s not forget that Norway has been one of the most successful countries in women’s football for quite a few years, which also generates an additional interest to fans. Official data from big domestic sports betting services stated that the state-owned company’s turnover had exploded from just over 300 million crowns to 8.5 billion crowns by early 2021. According to Business Reviews, the future is optimistic for the betting and gambling industry as a whole.
Revenue in the Online Sports Betting markets is projected to reach $226 million by the end of 2023, showing an annual growth of 4.52%. Modern technology provides everybody with the opportunity to watch his favorite football team game live, without leaving the comfort of his home. It also makes it possible for quite a few betting companies to offer the fans a big variety of bets concerning this or any other game, either before or during the match. In a country like Norway which is one of the world’s top countries for living standards and in the world living index the future is more than promising for all parties concerned.