Merger could mean staff cuts
Finland has merged its three state-owned gambling operators into a single organization to regulate and monitor all gaming activity within the country’s borders. The operators—Veikkaus, Fintoto, and Raha-automaatttiyhdistys, or RAY—will be known as Veikkaus.
The consolidation was ordered by Finland’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy last September. It is designed to maintain shared practices and standards and create a stronger industry as international online gaming companies offer more competition. The merger should be complete by late 2016.
The new name was selected after a survey of 4,300 Finns who said Veikkaus is familiar and represents “security and responsibility,” according to Casino News Daily. The new organization will officially launch on January 1, 2017.
The merger reportedly could lead to staff cuts; the website Reviewed-casinos.com, citing a report in the publication YLE indicated that only a third of the current management teams in all three organizations will be retained. No CEO has been named, but Sweden’s Nordicbet says Juha Koponen of Veikkaus is the frontrunner, followed by RAY’s Velipekka Nummikoski and Fintoto CEO Pertti Koskenniemi.
