NordAN sends letter to Alþingi on Iceland’s online alcohol sales bill
- Nordic Alcohol and Drug Policy Network
- 2 minutes ago
- 2 min read
14.04.2026 - NordAN has today sent a letter to Alþingi’s Judicial Affairs and Education Committee regarding Bill 479/2025–2026, the proposal that would allow private online alcohol sales in Iceland. The bill passed first reading on 5 March 2026 and was referred to the committee, where it remains under consideration.
The letter comes at an important moment. On 8 April 2026, the Reykjanes District Court ruled that the business model used by the online retailer Smáríkið amounted to unlawful domestic retail under current Icelandic law. The court rejected the claim that this was merely cross-border distance selling and confirmed that alcohol bought from Icelandic wholesalers, stored domestically, and then sold to consumers falls within the scope of the state retail monopoly. NordAN reported on the ruling last Thursday, describing it as a major development in the long-running dispute over online alcohol sales in Iceland.
In its letter, NordAN argues that this is not only an Icelandic question, but part of a wider Nordic pattern in which alcohol monopolies are being challenged step by step through legislative, legal, and regulatory pressure. The letter places Iceland’s current debate in a broader regional context and warns that exceptions to monopoly systems, once introduced, often create momentum for further liberalisation. NordAN also argues that the recent court ruling means Bill 479 can no longer be presented simply as a technical update to the law, but must be understood as a deliberate political choice to change the legal and public health framework that the court has just affirmed.
The letter also highlights the specific risks linked to home delivery of alcohol. NordAN points to weaker age verification, the removal of protective barriers for people with alcohol problems, and the basic problem that private delivery systems are governed by commercial incentives rather than public health goals. It further stresses that Iceland’s ÁTVR monopoly should be seen as part of a Nordic public health model that has helped keep alcohol-related harm lower than it would otherwise be.
NordAN’s main message to the committee is that the recent court decision should be taken seriously before any further legislative steps are taken on private online alcohol sales. The organisation urges Alþingi to reject Bill 479, to protect the integrity of Iceland’s alcohol monopoly, and to view the issue not as a narrow retail question, but as one with wider consequences for public health and for the future of the Nordic alcohol policy model.