The Finnish national lottery organization, Veikkaus, has shown gratitude for the Finnish government’s recent investigation into the nation’s gambling monopoly framework.
The report, issued yesterday, evaluated the present condition of the Finnish gambling marketplace and the effectiveness of its efforts to direct patrons towards Veikkaus. The study concluded that preserving the current situation is “not a favorable choice” and emphasized that roughly half of gambling activities currently occur on unauthorized websites.
“Approximately half of online gambling activities take place outside the regulated system. Gambling outside the system also carries significant gambling risks, which are difficult to effectively prevent within the existing system structure,” the study stated.
Veikkaus’s upper management embraced the report and its findings. Chief Executive Officer Olli Sarekoski highlighted the size of the offshore sector and expressed his readiness to implement a licensing system to increase Finland’s channelisation rate.
“This report is both thorough and balanced,” Sarekoski stated. “Significantly, it confirms that gambling profits outside the monopoly system are between €500 million and €550 million, which also aligns with the category we provide based on information from H2 Gambling Capital.”
From Veikkaus’s viewpoint, a licensing system transition would be advantageous as soon as possible.
The report proposes two potential pathways to reform the Finnish gambling industry. The initial option, inspired by the Norwegian model, would restrict the availability of unauthorized products to Finnish customers. This would be accomplished by granting regulatory and law enforcement entities expanded authority, making it more challenging to offer such games to users.
The second option involves introducing a licensing model, mirroring the approach adopted by most of Finland’s neighboring nations.
A licensing system could potentially lead to a greater channeling of online gambling compared to the current situation, the study suggests.
The report was endorsed by Harri Sailas, Tuija Brax, Riitta Matilainen, and Mikko Alkio, and was delivered to State Secretary Akseli Koskela.
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