Icelandic prevention organisations have criticised the police response to online alcohol sales after a district court ruled that one retailer’s activities violated ÁTVR’s exclusive right to sell alcohol. Around twenty companies now reportedly offer alcohol for collection or home delivery in Iceland.

The Icelandic Government has told ESA that online alcohol sales based on domestic warehousing and delivery constitute domestic retail sale, not private importation. Prevention organisations in Iceland welcome the clarification as a reaffirmation of the public health basis of the alcohol monopoly.

NordAN has sent a letter to Alþingi’s Judicial Affairs and Education Committee urging it to reject Bill 479, the proposal that would allow private online alcohol sales in Iceland. The letter comes just after the Reykjanes District Court ruled that the business model used by Smáríkið amounted to unlawful domestic retail under current Icelandic law.

Landmark victory in Iceland! Yesterday, the Reykjanes District Court ruled that domestic online alcohol sales by private companies violate the state monopoly. The guilty verdict against the retailer Smáríkið effectively shuts the infamous legal loophole used by private sellers. Prevention organizations, supported by NordAN, are celebrating this decision as a crucial win for public health policy. The political battle now intensifies as Parliament considers pending legislation

A long-running dispute over online alcohol sales in Iceland is now moving on two tracks at once. A court case due to be heard on 5 March will test whether the current sales model used by private operators is legal under existing law, while a new bill before Alþingi would change that legal framework by formally allowing licensed online alcohol retail. Together, the two processes could shape the future of Iceland’s alcohol monopoly system.