The Finnish state-owned gaming monopoly Veikkaus has once again endorsed changing to a licensing model open market for the country, iGaming Business reported August 29. Veikkaus argues this is the best way to switch consumers from using unlicensed sites to using legal sites.
Meanwhile, the monopoly reported a stable revenue for the first half of the year. It recorded €519.3 m in revenue, 1.0 percent higher than the €515.9 million in 2022.
While introducing the revenue report, Veikkaus CEO Olli Sarekoski commented, “The most important thing is that more gambling can be channeled into licensed offerings than before and we think that the license system best supports this goal and the development of more responsible gambling.”
The CEO said he was confident Veikkaus would be able to develop its business whatever model is in place. He added, “However, change requires renewal and development from both Veikkaus and the people of Veikkaus.”
The main driver of Veikkaus’s revenue increase was online gaming, which grew 9.4 percent to €93.2 million in the first half of the year.
Chief Financial Officer Regina Sippel commented, “Veikkaus’ result and performance during the first half of the year were as expected and we can be satisfied with these as a whole.” She added, “The first half of the year was positive, especially in Veikkaus’ digital channel.”
Much of the increased revenue was balanced by increased costs. One of the biggest cost increases came from the lottery tax, which increased from €17.5 million 48.1 percent to €25.9 million.
The government plans to end the gambling monopoly by 2026 as part of an effort to attract more consumers to use legal sites. Finland’s channelization rate is low compared to other European countries. The plan is to divide the company into several competing companies.
