The Finnish Ministry of the Interior is requesting comments on the draft government proposal for a new gambling act. The reform of the gambling system is based on the Government Programme.

Under the proposal, Veikkaus Oy, the Finnish government-owned betting agency, would no longer hold the monopoly to arrange betting and online slot machine games and casino games. These games would be opened up to competition by means of a licensing system as laid out in the Government Programme. The consultation period ends on 18 August 2024.

At present, Veikkaus Oy has the monopoly on the offering of gambling games in Finland. A significant portion of online gambling nonetheless takes place outside the monopoly system with enterprises operating beyond national regulation and supervision.

The new legislation therefore refers to a model where gambling enterprises could apply to the Supervisory Agency for a licence to run gambling games in Finland. The aim here, as laid out in the Government Programme, is to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm and to increase the channelling of demand to a regulated gambling system.

Gambling games would be run with an exclusive licence or a gambling game licence. The supply of the game software used in gambling games would be subject to a game software licence. Licence holders would be required to pay an annual supervision fee to the supervisory authority.

Lotteries, pools, totalisator betting and physical slot machines as well as casino games would remain subject to an exclusive licence. In practice, this would give Veikkaus a monopoly in games such as lottery games and scratch cards.

The new competitive market and Veikkaus Oy’s monopoly operations would be managed by separate entities within the same group. The government would annually decide the compensation Veikkaus Oy pays for its exclusive licence.

As mentioned, the draft legislation also proposes major changes to the supervision and regulation of gambling. Currently, gambling games are supervised by the National Police Board, whereas the above said new Finnish Supervisory Agency, operating in the administrative branch of the Ministry of Finance, would take over, gaining extensive powers to enforce the law by imposing administrative sanctions, financial penalties and rescinding licences. The act would include provisions on the use of network barring and payment blocking to restrict any gambling game offering and marketing outside of the licensing system. This would allow demand to be steered towards licensed gambling and thus enable better prevention of gambling-related harm.

Moreover, the Agency would supervise operators to ensure their compliance with the legislation on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

The gambling act would include provisions on the registration of gamblers and verification of their identity and place of residence. Provisions would also be laid down on the age limit for gambling, the playing of games via a gambling account and other gambling after identification. The draft proposal proposes the introduction of a centralised register of gambling bans that would allow people to self-impose bans on gambling games offered by any licence holder.

The act would also regulate the marketing and sponsorship of gambling games as well as prohibited marketing tools. Licensed gambling enterprises would be allowed to advertise their business and games in various channels subject to certain restrictions. Commercial collaboration with social media influencers on the influencers’ own accounts would not be permitted, for example.

The marketing should be moderate in terms of volume, scope, visibility and repetitiveness and also necessary to steer gambling game demand towards licensed gambling. The outdoor marketing of gambling games involving a high risk of harm would be prohibited. The physical slot machines and casino games remaining a monopoly of Veikkaus Oy could not be marketed by any means. Marketing could not be targeted to minors or otherwise vulnerable persons.

The proposed reforms include a staged implementation plan, with applications for gambling licences anticipated from early 2026 and licensed operations potentially commencing by early 2027.

Want to know more about Scandinavian gambling compliance and other jurisdictions? Contact Lawrence Marchese (lawrence@chevron.group), Nikolas Lotz (nikolas@chevron.group), Kurt Laferla (kurt@chevron.group) and Thees Buschmann (thees@chevron.group) from Chevron Group. Follow us on LinkedIn for more industry related news.

Quelle: Chevron Consultants