Finnish Government Set to Introduce Lotteries Act Changes
The Finnish government is set to introduce sweeping changes to the gambling laws in the Nordic nation. As a result, the state operator Veikkaus could become a business to business provider in the future.
Finland Introduces Gambling Changes © Pixabay.
The Lotteries Act that dictates gambling laws in Finland is set to have a radical overhaul by the government. The northern European country is looking to amend current legislation to reduce gambling-related harm.
The proposals will take a four-pronged approach that will focus on identification, marketing, payments, and land-based slot machines.
Although in the UK, we tend to think of lotteries as an entity such as the National Lottery (Lotto), in Finland, the term under the Lottery Act (491/65), which entered into life on January 1st 1966, is a general term that also covers bingo machines and other games where money can be won.
A main focus of the new regulations would be the legal requirement to identify players. Previously exempt, the new rules would also extend to all of the state operator Veikkaus’s games, although the timeframe for this will be staggered.
Any gambling activity in the country will require identification to be produced by 2023 at the latest, although scratchcard purchases have been given an extended deadline of 2024.
Under the new changes, all marketing for gambling products must be “moderate”, although the new proposals will outlaw the marketing of what is deemed “particularly harmful” games of chance. An example of this vertical is cited as slot machines.
As is common in most regulated regions, operators will be obliged to display the minimum age to play the games, currently set at eighteen. They would also need to provide information on self-exclusion schemes and also provide information on any other sources of help for those who are concerned about or are experiencing gambling harm.
The new regulations would also allow sports betting advertisements. This change is radical as it was a practice that was previously prohibited. Moreover, ice hockey is the favourite participation and spectator sport in the country, and advertisements for sports betting could provide lucrative with a population in the country of 5.5 million.
Football is also popular in the country, and English football fans will probably know some of the most famous Finnish players.
An example includes Sami Hyypiä, who who signed for Liverpool in a £2.6m deal in 1999. He became club captain and completed a unique treble of the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup. His highlight at his time with the Merseyside club was winning the top prize in European football, the Champions League, in the 2004-05 season. He left after a decade at the club as one of the greats of the club.
Under the changes for payments, the government will have the ability under the Lotteries act to block payments if a company falls foul of regulations, including the advertisement regulations.
Although the new rule changes do not open the market for other operators to provide land-based slot machines, it does impose new obligations on the state-owned operator. For example, Veikkaus now has a legal obligation to consider preventing harm when deciding a location for slot machines. Meaning it could fall foul of the regulations by placing in an area frequented by under-18’s.
The new rules also allow the state operator to create a subsidiary to act as a business to business supplier. So although Veikkaus would not be allowed to market and sell directly to consumers, it could work products that other operators would supply as a white-label offering.
The government submitted the proposals to reform the act last week. Changes will come into force at the beginning of 2022, the regulation of blocking payments will start in 2023.
