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Veikkaus, which is a Finnish state-owned company, has the monopoly over all gambling activities in the country. The company provides a wide array of games, including the Finnish national lottery, fixed odd betting, football pools, scratch tickets and so on. In total, there are 20 different kinds of games organized by the company. Most of its revenues are derived from the national lottery, which is extremely popular among the Finnish population. Interestingly, Veikkaus is managed by the Finnish Ministry of Education and the proceeds from its operation are channeled back to it. In 2010, these profits amounted to 463 million euros. The rules of the games, on the other hand, are controlled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
This model of regulating gambling activities in the country has been ubiquitous in the Nordic countries, but recently a new trend of liberalization has emerged. The national monopolies are having a harder time maintaining a customer base as people are switching to the online casinos, which are more difficult for the authorities to keep away. Internationally licensed online gambling providers are still able to reach the customers in countries where it is illegal for privately owned companies to provide these services. Some countries have tried to employ the banking sector in order to limit the power of such companies to process transactions for the customers. There has been a case of resorting to Apple in order to remove some gambling applications from the App Store as well.
As stated by the editor of the Finnish website Netti-casino.biz, it is interesting to see what path Finland will take when it comes to liberalizing the gambling market. There is a precedent for both liberalization as well as toughening of the regulations. Sweden and Denmark are already accepting applications from private companies for gambling licenses, while Norway is trying to strengthen the hold of its national monopoly over the market. There are no signs as to which direction Finland will follow yet. There are some obvious advantages to be had with liberalization. The government is not able to collect taxes from underground markets, which emerge when activities that are in demand are banned by the regulators. With a regulated market, it could see a surge in the tax revenues.
Online gambling is gaining popularity in Finland
Veikkaus’ revenue report shows an increase in the share of the digital activities. The company’s digital revenue increased by 10% from last year and in Q1 comprised 44% of the total revenues generated. The number of weekly active online customers stands at 626,000, which is an 11% increase. This shows that the monopoly is coping successfully with international providers, which might give the regulators less incentive to liberalize the market. Veikkaus claims to have captured 90% of the online market and furthermore, plans to “renew the company’s strategy in 2018 to respond to the strong change in the operating environment.”
Source: http://netti-casino.biz/casinouutiset/ennuste-suomen-rahapelimarkkinoille/
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