The Newly Formed Finnish Government of Petteri Orpo Plans to Dismantle Veikkaus’ Gambling Monopoly

FINLAND (June 16, 2023) — According to the government program paper seen by Iltalehti, the government will reform Finland’s gambling system, opening it up to competition with a license model no later than January 1, 2026, the government program states.

The aim of the reform is to prevent and reduce the health, financial and social harms caused by gambling and to improve the degree of channelization of the gambling system.

– The licensing system would basically cover online casino games and online betting. Veikkaus’ exclusive operations and competitive market operations will be separated into different companies within the same group.

According to the government program, the current gambling policy has not been successful, because gambling is a significant problem for some Finns.

The market share of the exclusivity system in digital gambling is close to 50 percent, and companies outside the exclusivity system operating in the digital gambling market receive their income without license fees, taxes or responsibility for gambling problems caused by their operations.

Gaming machines for controlled premises?

According to the government program, when switching to a license system, supervision of the gambling industry will be enhanced, sufficient resources for supervision will be secured and money laundering and result manipulation will be effectively prevented, among other things.

Let’s ensure sufficient resources for preventing gambling harm in the public sector and the organization sector, the government program states.

According to the government’s program, the government will also investigate the transfer of gaming machines to separate supervised facilities, and enable the consumer to obtain a gaming ban from one platform for all licensed services.

According to the government’s program, the reform secures the possibility of directing consumption to licensed supply by means of, among other things, marketing.

Channeling is carried out according to the government program in such a way that marketing does not promote harmful gambling, and gambling marketing is not directly aimed at minors.

Marketing must be moderate and responsible in terms of content, scope, visibility and frequency. Personal marketing of games without the express consent of the person is prohibited.

SOURCE: Iltalehti.