Has Finland's gambling policy failed?
The specialist magazine iGaming Business explains that the Finnish government is changing the current gambling policy described as unsuccessful [Article on English]. This is due, among other things, to the fact that addictive gambling is a problem in Finland and that more and more players seem to be switching to unlicensed offers.
As early as November 2023, the Finnish government have a study carried out [Study on English] to develop alternatives to the current monopoly. The focus was on countries in which a licensing system was used.
A key aspect of the new gambling policy is to tighten gambling laws. For this purpose, an authority should be created that will be equipped with sufficient resources to be able to carry out measures to combat money laundering, among other things.
To see how effectively such authorities can work, one only has to look at Finland's neighboring country, Norway. The Norwegian authority Lotteritilsynet has already imposed a ban on a foreign provider this year. However, gambling in Norway is still regulated by a state monopoly.
Veikkaus – the Finnish gambling monopolist
The Finnish gaming company Veikkaus is fully state-owned and is the only official gaming operator in Finland. The company dates back to a merger of gaming companies Veikkaus, Fintoto and RAY in 2017.
As a non-profit company, Veikkaus invests the income from gaming operations in, among other things, social and infrastructural projects in the country. However, Veikkaus' sales appear to have stagnated, which is explained by the emergence of increased online competition.
It is estimated that Veikkaus' market share in Finland is only around 50%. Experts attribute this to the Finnish population's participation in unlicensed gambling offers.
Positive feedback from the industry
The government's initiative was met with approval within the industry. In particular, it was praised that a licensing system could promote free competition.
We are pleased that the government has recognized the need to adapt our gaming system to the realities of today's technology. […] This reform strengthens fair competition. – Mika Kuismanen, managing director of the online gambling association Rahapeliala, source: iGaming business
However, the government emphasized that before introducing the licensing model, the social effects of the reform must be carefully examined, with a particular focus on the possible effects on the increase in problem gambling.
This could explain why the Finnish government has planned a long lead time until the gambling monopoly could actually be lifted in 2026.
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