The FIFA World Cup became a highlight for Norway. The national team and its supporters inspired a sense of pride and unity, with crowds filling the streets to celebrate Norway’s success. In Oslo, thousands gathered outside the Royal Palace to do the “Viking row”. But the tournament was notable for more than just celebrations. Norway’s participation in the World Cup also put alcohol and gambling policies in the spotlight. Even before the first match was played, it sparked debate about temporary exceptions to alcohol serving regulations and gambling opening hours, raising questions about policies that are otherwise rarely contested. In this popNAD article, Stig Erik Sørheim recaps what really happened.
Football without beer?
When Norway beat Estonia 4-1 on 13 November 2025, the path to the World Cup qualification was virtually assured.
Already the next day, attention turned to an unexpected issue. People pointed out that due to the time difference, some of Norway’s matches would be played after normal alcohol serving hours.
“It would be a shame if Parliament blocked Norwegian football fans from experiencing the World Cup as a World Cup should be experienced – in a football pub,”
one Progress Party politician argued.
A few days later, Norway beat Italy, and there was no longer any doubt: the national team was heading to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
Initially, the governing Social Democratic party showed little enthusiasm for extending alcohol serving hours. “[T]here is a reason why we have [them],” Minister of Culture, Lubna Jaffery said. “It is about public order and consideration for people who want to sleep.”
Within weeks, however, the tone had changed. In early December, Prime Minister Støre stepped in and signaled that the government was prepared to make exceptions.
“We have a tradition in Norway where we go out and watch football in pubs”
he said. “We think people should be able to watch a full game like that. Not that it is interrupted at half-time or sometime during the second half”. Støre promised that the government would review the regulations and make any adjustments necessary to ensure fans could follow the matches.
His parliamentary leader, Tonje Brenna, agreed:
“Of course people should be able to see the World Cup. Even in pubs. Even when matches are played during the night. If we have rules that prevent this, we’ll have to solve that.”
An exception – not a precedent
Following the Prime Minister’s marching orders, the bureaucracy got busy. By the end of January, the government had published a consultation proposal recommending “a temporary change” in serving hours during the 2026 Men’s World Cup, from 11 June to 19 July for venues showing World Cup matches. This was described as an “extraordinary event of limited duration,” and specified that “it was not intended to set precedent for future events.”
By mid-March, the Ministry had received more than 100 consultation responses. A majority were critical of the plans, including submissions from the Government’s own expert bodies, the Institute of Public Health and the Directorate of Health. Most of the municipalities that responded supported the proposal, as did several industry voices.
Health NGOs and government experts criticized the proposal, pointing to the well-documented connection between increased availability and alcohol- related harms. Industry organizations, by contrast, supported the proposal and advocated for a permanent extension of serving hours.
The association of Wine and Spirits Importers (VBF), for example, argued that “there are, and will be, many other events that should qualify for changes in serving hours. Different interests and preferences in sports and culture will mean that Norwegians (…) will have different opinions about what is “cool” or important. When the Government chooses the men’s World Cup as a good reason to propose an exception (…) this establishes a precedence (…) We think this is wrong because it could be perceived as discriminatory if an event is not considered “cool” enough. The rules should be changed to make it permanent.”
In mid-May, Parliament adopted a temporary amendment to the Alcohol Act, allowing alcohol to be served until 06.00 AM during the World Cup.
Betting after bedtime
While the public debate about extended serving hours dominated headlines in January 2026, the Norwegian gambling monopoly, Norsk Tipping, quietly sought and received dispensation from the Gambling Authority to extend its opening hours during the World Cup.
Unlike alcohol, this was largely business as usual. The Gambling Act allows exemptions for “relevant, international competitions in a different time zone”, a provision that clearly applies to the World Cup, as well as to numerous other international sporting events. In fact, the dispensation granted for the World Cup also covered the NHL and NBA playoffs.
The rationale behind this exception was the risk of channeling Norwegian gamblers towards unlicensed, foreign gambling operators. As Norsk Tipping explained: “When World Cup games are played at night, it is even more important that the regulated and responsible system is open to those who want to gamble. If we close, the customers will find their way to unlicensed gambling companies without loss limits or other safety mechanisms.”
Not everyone was convinced. Several NGOs in the gambling-field expressed concern, both over the increased availability of sports betting during the championship in general, and the combination of increased alcohol availability and gambling. Research has also linked nighttime betting to a greater likelihood of risky gambling behaviours.
What happened?
Only one of Norway’s matches was played outside of normal alcohol serving hours, and between 4 and 19 July just three World Cup matches extended beyond the maximum serving times set out in the Alcohol Act. Nevertheless, the amendment opened for round-the-clock alcohol service for six full weeks.
As is often the case in Norwegian alcohol policy, the final decision rested largely with local authorities. The amendment allowed municipalities to determine their own closing times during the World Cup. A survey by the Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) found that 40 percent of the municipalities that replied had decided not to extend serving hours, although most major cities did.
Even among the local authorities that chose to extend serving hours, implementation varied. Some expanded local serving hours while remaining within the limits of the Alcohol Act, others extended them by one or one and a half hours, some extended it only on nights when Norway played, and others allowed 24-hour service throughout the whole tournament.
Access to the extended opening hours was not universal. In Oslo, for example, the scheme was limited to venues with a history of showing sports events. Matches had to be shown live and be visible to a majority of the guests for a venue to qualify for extended serving hours.
To follow it all up
Concrete data on the effects of the World Cup exemptions is scarce at this point. The overall impression is that the tournament was a celebration of unity and joy. Fears about drunken and disorderly conduct and violence did not appear to materialize. The World Cup required increased police presence since thousands of supporters filled the streets, but the celebrations were mostly peaceful. Some police districts reported additional disturbances, while others saw little change.
Notably, most celebrations took place well within normal serving hours. Likewise, the increased police presence and incidents that did occur were also mostly within normal hours.
A research project examining the effects of the temporary extension of serving hours is underway. The study is conducted by FAFO and combines observational studies and analyses of police and health service data. However, results are not expected until next year.
The World Cup also boosted interest in sports betting. Norway’s matches broke all previous records at Norsk Tipping, and before the final game against England, more than 500.000 individual players had placed bets on the outcome. By comparison, around 380,000 people participated in betting during the entire 2024 European Cup.
Whether this surge in betting activity will have longer-term implications remains unclear. At present, there are no data on possible gambling-related harms linked to the tournament, but it seems likely that a large number of Norwegians placed their first sports bets during the World Cup. We don’t know how this will influence Norwegian gambling habits in the future.
Lessons learned
Although most Norwegians consider the World Cup a great success, it remains difficult to disentangle the effects of the extended serving hours from the broader, overall picture.
The scenes that came to symbolise Norway’s World Cup campaign were not dependent on late-night alcohol service. The thousands who filled the streets during matches against Brazil and England did so within ordinary serving hours, and the massive “Viking Row” events in front of the Royal Palace took place during the afternoon and evening.
The World Cup was, in the Governments own words, “an extraordinary event of limited duration”. It is therefore uncertain how relevant this experience is to debates about permanent changes in the Alcohol Act.
The temporary amendment specifically stated that it was not intended to set a precedent for future events. Yet, a number of commentators and politicians have seen the experience as an argument for a permanent extension of alcohol sales.
Summary
Norway extended both alcohol serving hours and gambling hours during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. While the worst concerns raised by health organisations did not materialize, there is still little evidence on the short-term consequences, or any potential long-term effects
The World Cup highlighted important differences between two regulatory systems in Norway. Extended gambling opening hours were granted through an existing exemption mechanism designed for international sporting events in different time zones. The World Cup was therefore not an exceptional case, but part of an established regulatory practice.
By contrast, the Alcohol Act required an amendment to the Act to extend serving hours. The amendment was not intended to set a precedent, but it is likely to be used as an argument in future discussions about alcohol availability during major sports and cultural events.
The practical need for extended serving hours was relatively limited. Only a small number of matches were played outside normal serving hours, and municipalities implemented the changes in different ways. Yet the World Cup demonstrated that exceptions to longstanding alcohol regulations are politically possible when linked to a widely celebrated national event.
The article is written by
Stig Erik Sørheim, Head of International Department, Actis
at the request of popNAD
Photo: Mostphotos, Actis.
