Ladbrokes, the world's largest betting company, had tried to break into the Norwegian gambling market but the government turned it down. It then took a case to court in Norway attacking the monopoly held by companies such as Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto over lottery games and sports betting. The EFTA court, sitting in Luxembourg, found that the Norwegian government measures did not properly attack problems of gambling addiction and crime, which are the given reasons for Norway’s decision to ban private operation in the business.“A system based on an exclusive right ... completely denies private operators access to the respective market and thus encroaches upon the freedom to provide services and the right of establishment,” the EFTA court said in a statement.Norway also said that gambling companies must use their money for socially beneficial purposes, but the court rejected that argument.“The motive of financing benevolent or public-interest activities cannot in itself be regarded as an objective justification for restrictions on free movement,” the EFTA court said. However, in March, the EFTA court ruled that Norway could establish a monopoly on gambling machines to fight gambling addiction. That case was brought by the EFTA Surveillance Authority, the executive branch of EFTA.The EFTA court, which deals with cases from non-EU countries Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland uses the same rule book as the European Union in issues of free movement of goods and capital, which often affect cross-border businesses.This means the top court of the EU 27-member bloc, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), sometimes takes EFTA judgments into account although there is no requirement to do so.

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