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The Finnish gambling question: Is the poor fund the rich?
Reading Time: 3 minutes
For many years, Finland’s state gambling monopoly in the form of Veikkaus has been hailed as a model system. Veikkaus operates slot machines, lotteries and betting on horse races, attracting a vast majority of Finland’s population. The gambling proceeds fund organisations in culture, sports, research, youth work, social welfare and health.
In other words, it looks like a win-win situation for all. People can legally gamble, and their losses fund common good causes.
However, things are not rosy they appear. Recently emerged empirical data reveal one particularly serious flaw: problem gamblers – usually economically backward people comprising pensioners, the unemployed and the jobless who mainly use in slot machines – contribute to more than 23 per cent of gambling proceeds. According to a study done by Finland’s National Institute of Health and Welfare (THL), 80 per cent of the Finns gamble. Among them, just 3.3 per cent can be termed as problem gamblers, and they contribute more than one-fifth of the gambling revenue.
Annika Saarikko, Finland’s Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services, has noted that up to 700,000 people in Finland are negatively affected by problem gambling when family members are included.
Jani Selin, an expert on Finnish gambling policy and a researcher at THL, says that the underprivileged are also “overrepresented” among problem gamblers.
“We know this from loads of international studies that people who come from lower socio-economic circumstances tend to gamble more,” Selin said. “It’s an almost universally accepted claim. It is the same in Finland. We have known this for a long time.”
Profit-seeking vs addiction interventions
It has been reported that slot machines – which are usually the biggest problem game for the poor – are more highly concentrated in neighbourhoods with people with lower income, education, and employment levels. In the article, a Veikkaus representative claimed that the placement of machines simply follows “client flows.”
European Union regulations only allow state monopolies that reduce and prevent gambling-related harms. Accordingly, Veikkaus’ executive vice president Velipekka Nummikoski told Yle that the company has a responsibility strategy which affects where it places machines. “Business factors are just one aspect which we base the location of our slot machines on,” he said. “They are by no means the only one.”
Rather than limiting the availability of slot machines as recommended by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Nummikoski explained that Veikkaus’ position is that authentication – where users verify their identities before they can play – (scheduled for 2023) would be the best way to deal with problem gambling. Restricting slot machines to gaming arcades would also mean taking them out of the reach of hundreds of Finnish communities, and Veikkaus says it wants games “to be available to as many Finns as possible in an equal manner.”
THL’s Selin disputes Veikkaus’ claims that profit isn’t driving decisions behind where to place slot machines. “They are only thinking about the revenue – the business side—when they place the slots in the neighborhoods,” Selin said. He and his colleagues think that other factors must be taken into consideration. “It makes no sense to put all the slot machines, for instance, in the neighborhoods where there are lots of socio-economic problems already.”
Neighbording Sweden is one of the only countries which has tried to calculate what economist Earl Grinols calls the “hidden” costs of gambling. In 2009, Svenska Spel, the state-owned gambling company in Sweden, produced a report for the European Commission which looked at a range of issues: the cost of depression, the loss of output through unemployment, the cost of treating problem gamblers, the cost of crime, and cost of state efforts to combat it.
The report says that at least 230–450 million euros (2018 exchange rate) is lost every year, mostly from reduced economic productivity. Because of a number of costs it did not or could not calculate, the report says the number is likely higher.
Svenska Spel’s operating profit was 495 million euros in 2009. This means that gambling proceeds handed over to the government nearly matched the social and economic cost of problem gambling, perhaps even more. While Svenska Spel does not control as much of Sweden’s market (in 2009, about 50 per cent) as Veikkaus does in Finland (today, about 90 per cent), the results are still striking. If all of the hidden costs of gambling were calculated in Finland, where problem gambling is even more of a problem, it is possible the economic loss could be even bigger.
Sources: Yle News / Joel Gillin
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A large-scale $1 billion online casino shady scheme involving Ukrainian fraudsters Vadim Gordievsky and Alyona Suvorova has been discovered in Kazakhstan.
The Kazakhstan Financial Monitoring Agency has revealed a large-scale shady scheme with a whole layer of cross-border transfers. While referring to the press service of the Agency, Elordainfo.kz informs that numerous bank employees and 120 people from several countries were involved in the operation of the shady scheme.
The money was sent to various payment organizations, disguised as legal transactions, and was later withdrawn to numerous online casinos.
At the same time, local authorities managed to eliminate the call center, which employed foreigners, which provided technical support for four online casinos as well as advice on money transactions. In addition, the organizers of the call center created a gambling partnership program that was used to accept payments and withdraw them in cryptocurrencies. The overall turnover exceeded 200 million USDT.
During the implementation of all these measures, over 70 searches were conducted. As a result of these activities, local authorities managed to gather physical evidence as well as to detain nine suspects.
According to law enforcement authorities in Kazakhstan, the key organizer of the shady miscoding scheme is Ukrainian Vadim Ivanovich Gordievsky, born in 1974. He led this organized crime group and used the local Marginplus company for these purposes (marginplus.kz). In addition to companies from Kazakhstan, Gordievsky also worked with illegal Russian online casinos while helping them to facilitate payments.
Already in 2008, Vadim Gordievsky served as deputy head of the Boryspil Regional State Administration and was in charge of land issues. Under Gordievsky, various lands of Boryspil were sold while the money was stolen. In the same 2008, he was dismissed from his position with a huge scandal, but his case never resulted in criminal proceedings. A lot of money and connections in government offices helped him avoid accountability.
In 2012, when Viktor Yanukovych came to power, Vadim Gordievsky took the chair of the head of the highway service in the Odessa region, where he managed to get access to millions of dollars, which he later invested in FC Alta Capital.
After the initiation of criminal cases for financial crimes, fraud, and the announcement of his wanted list by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vadim Gordievsky left Ukraine on forged documents.
According to investigators, Gordievsky’s partner, Mikhail Kovalev (Mykhaylo Kovalov), who has a number of companies in the EU, in particular, in Poland and a residence permit in Spain, was closely working with Gordievsky. By using numerous fictitious companies in Poland, in particular, STABLEX SOLUTION Sp. z o. o (solvexs.pl) he engaged in illegal payments and cash withdrawal in cryptocurrencies.
His partner, who is also his former Kyivstar employee, Alyona (Olena) Suvorova (born in 1983), who left Ukraine for Moscow after February 2022, and Ukrainian IT specialist Denis Andreevich Rykov (born in 1990), who currently lives in St. Petersburg, also participated in the shady scheme of illegal bookmakers and dubious payments.
Judging by her social media accounts, Alyona Suvorova is currently positioning herself “as an entrepreneur, investor, and crypto trader with 5+ years of experience.” According to Suvorova herself, she has been developing payment technologies in the field of FinTech for 10 years. In 2021, she opened her own business for international crypto transfers. In addition, she is the founder of the Lemoncoin Crypto Academy.
The law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan are asking for information about the location and data of all these people. In the near future, Vadim Gordievsky, Alyona Suvorova, and other defendants will be put on the international wanted list. According to local laws, they face up to nine years in prison.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
El mundo de las apuestas deportivas y el gaming está a punto de experimentar una gran sacudida con el lanzamiento de Goal2Win, el innovador nuevo juego de números de GoldenRace, diseñado para cautivar a la masiva audiencia global del fútbol.
Goal2Win tiende un exitoso puente entre la pasión universal por el deporte rey y la probada emoción de las predicciones basadas en números, ofreciendo a los operadores un producto nuevo y de alto potencial para la monetización.
Goal2Win es una oferta de primer nivel que toma el formato familiar y clásico de los juegos de números y lo integra con una dinámica temática centrada en el fútbol. Esta combinación única hace que el juego sea instantáneamente reconocible, pero a la vez emocionante y nuevo, atrayendo tanto a apostadores deportivos experimentados como a recién llegados que buscan una experiencia atractiva y simplificada.
Goal2Win es la apuesta de GoldenRace entre la innovación y la tradición. Ofrece a los operadores un producto que aprovecha el inmenso alcance del fanatismo por el fútbol, a la vez que ofrece la jugabilidad sencilla y atractiva y el potencial de ganancias masivas que se espera de un juego de números de primer nivel. Es una mezcla convincente de emoción, simplicidad y un potencial de recompensa significativo.
Características clave que impulsan la fidelización y las ganancias potenciales
Goal2Win está diseñado para la máxima retención de jugadores y altas apuestas, con una jugabilidad dinámica y potentes características:
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Función multiplicadora: Los jugadores pueden realizar el mismo conjunto de apuestas en una impresionante cantidad de veintidós eventos consecutivos, lo que aumenta significativamente las ganancias potenciales y asegura una fidelización sostenida a lo largo del tiempo.
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Jackpots y Mega Jackpots: El juego incluye ganancias escalonadas con jackpots estándar y los codiciados Mega Jackpots, que prometen sumas que pueden cambiar la vida y actúan como un poderoso motivador para el jugador.
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Selecciones rápidas: Para un acceso rápido a la acción, la opción de Selecciones rápidas permite al sistema elegir números al azar, agilizando el proceso de apuesta para los jugadores.
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Selector de Fila/Columna: Mejorando la experiencia del usuario, los botones selectores permiten a los jugadores elegir fácilmente una fila o columna completa de números, simplificando las apuestas sofisticadas.
Goal2Win representa una oportunidad única para que los operadores aprovechen la inmensa base de aficionados al fútbol global con un producto que es a la vez innovador y reconocible al instante. Está listo para convertirse en una oferta básica, impulsando apuestas más altas y atrayendo a una demografía más amplia a la cartera de los operadores.
The post GoldenRace lanza Goal2Win, una fusión entre el fútbol y los juegos de números appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
The world of sports betting and gaming is set for a major shake-up with the launch of GoldenRace’s innovative, new number game, Goal2Win, designed to captivate the massive global football audience. Goal2Win successfully bridges the gap between the universal passion for the “king of sports” and the proven thrill of number-based predictions, offering partners a fresh, high-potential product for monetisation.
Goal2Win is a premium offering that takes the familiar, classic number game format and integrates it with a dynamic, football-centric theme. This unique combination makes the game instantly recognisable yet excitingly new, appealing both to seasoned sports bettors and newcomers seeking an engaging, simplified experience.
Goal2Win is GoldenRace’s proposal to mix innovation and tradition. It offers operators a product that leverages the immense reach of football fandom while delivering the straightforward, engaging gameplay and massive win potential expected from a top-tier number game. It’s a compelling blend of excitement, simplicity, and significant reward potential.
Key features driving engagement and potential winnings:
Goal2Win is engineered for maximum player retention and high stakes, boasting dynamic gameplay and powerful features:
- Multiplier feature: Players can place the same set of bets across an impressive twenty-two consecutive events, significantly driving up potential winnings and ensuring sustained engagement over time.
- Jackpots and Mega Jackpots: The game includes tiered winnings with both standard Jackpots and highly coveted Mega Jackpots, promising life-changing sums and acting as a powerful player motivator.
- Quick picks: For rapid access to the action, the Quick picks option allows the system to randomly select numbers, streamlining the betting process for players.
- Row/Column selector: Enhancing the user experience, selector buttons enable players to easily pick an entire row or column of numbers, simplifying sophisticated betting.
Goal2Win represents a unique opportunity for operators to tap into the immense global football fanbase with a product that is both innovative and instantly recognisable. It stands poised to become a staple offering, driving higher stakes and attracting a broader demographic to the operators’ portfolio.
The post GoldenRace launches Goal2Win to bridge the gap between football and numbers appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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