Finland government could diminish its monopoly on the online gaming market this year
The Finland government could be reconsidering its monopoly on the online lottery and gambling markets and opening up the industry to licensed private players, according to a report published in Finnish outlet MTV Uutiset. Finland’s minister of European Affairs and Ownership Steering, Tytti Tuppurainen told the outlet that there was a strong feeling across both the party in power and among the opposition that the monopoly of Veikkaus, the national lottery and slots gaming agency, be dissolved in favor of a multi-license system with private players.
At the moment, all regulated gambling happens through Finland’s central level company, Veikkaus. ©Frederic Köberl/Unsplash
This potential change would mark a significant shift in the Finnish gambling landscape, as the government has historically maintained a strong hold on the sector. The start of the process, Tuppurainen told MTV Uutiset, would begin with her ministry opening an investigation and producing a report ahead of the Finland general election in April. This would allow the next government in power to immediately work on transitioning the industry into a multi-license system. Given the evidence of the legislative overhaul that was required in other European countries around licensed online gambling, Tuppurainen said that she aims to get the process started as quickly as possible.
“As the Minister of Ownership, I myself hastened to make a report on a possible transition to a multi-permit system. It is only a good thing that the opposition also shares this perception. There are parliamentary elections next spring, and it would be ideal that by the time of the government negotiations, we would have enough information to be able to make policies in the government negotiations.”
Player protection and taxation some of the tipping points
As things stand in the Finnish gambling domain, Veikkaus is the only regulated provider for all things lottery and slots gaming related. This hasn’t curbed the emergence of other private operators in the sector, however, and the lack of clear regulations regarding their operations was among the red flags that Tuppurainen noted.
A number of these operators are foreign entities and, therefore, provide legal and compliance issues pertaining to player protections, safe gambling limits, and taxation on winnings. While the Veikkaus does have a strict hold on these areas in the products it provides as a central government agency, expecting private online gambling companies to be wary of such issues is not easy to attain without a solid regulatory framework. Tuppurainen said that these were some of the key factors in this push for an investigation.
“Now the game companies from abroad operate as if in a wild gray zone. They are not subject to the same liability regulations that apply to Veikkaus’ playing. The situation naturally causes gambling disadvantages and at the same time the taxman’s hand is twisted, which means that the profits from gambling also go past Finland to foreign countries.”
Presumably, with tighter regulations of the sort that countries like Netherlands, Germany, Norway, and Denmark have enforced, the emphasis on player safety would be far greater and easier to control as has been visible in these countries over the last 18 months or so. These countries have all been proactively reprimanding and banning operators who are either toeing the line of the regulations related to advertising and documentation, or have breached them in their entirety.
The government will continue monitoring physical devices and locations
Veikkaus came into effect in 2017 and has since managed the entire iGaming industry in the country, which is among the most active ones in Europe. This has involved the setting up of a multitude of arcades and over 10,000 slot machines. This is aside from running a booming land-based casino sector in the country that has been as enthusiastically received as one might have expected.
In its current stage, the discussions around Veikkaus do not show an indication that it would completely hand over operations to private sector players. The proposal, whenever the report arrives, will be centered mostly around making sure they aren’t the only regulated company in the industry; the way to achieve this, the government reckons, is to create a strong distinction between the iGaming scene in the online sector and the offline sector. As such, any regulatory changes may only radically affect the online landscape, while Veikkaus retains its hold on the offline sector. Sari Multala, the former Olympics sailor and now a member of parliament in Finland, was quoted saying as much.
“The lottery and gambling machines would remain within Veikkaus’ monopoly. It is easier to regulate when there is only one actor. On the online side, the regulation cannot achieve the goal of not playing out. Monitoring is easier in the physical world than online, stated Multala from the coalition’s line.”
