Licensing and regulation: Can we get a licence?

Iceland's gambling licensing framework continues to rest on the Lotteries Act No. 38/2005 primary legislation that predates the online-gambling era and is now described in current market commentary as outdated for that purpose. No enacted change to licensing structure occurred. The Ministry of Health has proposed a bill for a unified national gambling regulator, under Althing consideration since November 2025, which would consolidate oversight, advertising control and harm-reduction funding under a single supervisory authority; the proposal has not been enacted and no primary bill text has been retrieved, so its detailed licensing mechanics remain unconfirmed. The state-monopoly structure governing Íslandsspil and Íslensk Getspá continues to operate as the licensing status quo pending the outcome of this reform process.