The world of online casinos is in constant flux. Since the very first days of the Internet, massive casino companies have been in fierce competition to create their own footprint on the online portion of the business. As a result, over the years, the focus of the industry has gradually shifted more and more towards online casinos.
In this article, we will take a look at what is currently going on in Finland, which has one of the last state-owned gambling monopolies in Europe.
Finns and gambling go back several decades
The Finnish history of gambling dates all the way back to 1938. This is the year when the state first started offering gambling to its citizens in an effort to collect money for the social and healthcare fields. From these humble beginnings, the Finnish Veikkaus has grown into a real behemoth that offers slots, lottery, scratch cards, bingo, sports betting, and several other forms of gambling under its umbrella.
The rise of online casinos
As is the case in many countries, the Finnish monopoly has slowly begun to show cracks during the 20th century. With the advent of online casinos, more and more Finns have opted to play online instead of sticking to the thousands of slot machines located in supermarket lobbies and gas stations all around the country.
One of the main reasons why Finns have started to flock online is the sheer amount of competition available on the Internet. Nettikasinot360 lists several brands. Unlike Finnish Veikkaus, online casinos are forced to compete with each other by offering players more value in the form of better return-to-player percentages as well as lucrative promotions and offers.
The fact that winning money from online casinos is more probable has been reason enough for hordes of Finnish players to take their gambling online.
Reality forcing Finnish politician’s hands
Finland is obviously not the only country in the world that has recently had to take a stance on online casinos. Countries like Sweden and Norway have also made their decisions on whether to fight the growing trends or begin to regulate the market even harder. In Norway’s case, they have chosen the latter, whereas Sweden already opened its monopoly to outsiders a couple of years ago.
At the time of writing, the freshly-elected new Finnish parliament is about to start its operations after a Summer break. However, they have already come forward with their plans of ending the monopoly and creating a new Finnish license. Outside companies looking to obtain this license will undoubtedly have to undergo rigorous testing and meet strict requirements related to marketing and other vital elements.
Veikkaus’ opinion on the change
Interestingly enough, the Finnish gambling monopoly company Veikkaus had already been campaigning for the monopoly to end before the announcement was made. According to those in charge of Veikkaus, the company had already had a hard time adjusting to the amount of new competition. Previously, Veikkaus had to stay within very strict legal parameters while its competitors had a lot more freedom in the open market.
In the past few years, Veikkaus had also been warned several times by the National Police Board of Finland for being too aggressive with its marketing. Again, according to Veikkaus, these limitations were making it hard for the company to maintain its reputation and status as a monopoly. Thus, the company has expressed being satisfied with the decision.
What’s next?
Interesting times are certainly ahead for Finnish gambling enthusiasts. However, there is still a lot of red tape for those in charge to deal with. Because of this, it might still take a couple of years for the new changes to be implemented and the Finnish license to become a thing.
Could this be the beginning of a more fun and relaxed system or will the politicians end up sucking all the fun from gambling? How about responsible gambling: how will it be enforced?
We look forward to seeing what comes of the Finnish gambling system and how the Finnish government chooses to address things such as marketing and casino bonuses.
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