The newly established center-right government of Finland has announced plans to end the current gambling monopoly Veikkaus and replace it with a market-based licensing model by 2026 at the latest, iGaming Business reported.
It said the goal is to prevent social and financial harm of gambling by encouraging more legal participation with both online casinos and online sports betting. The current policy has “not been successful,” said the government, and nearly 50 percent of those who gamble do so with unlicensed operators.
The government plans to break up Veikkaus into several companies that will all have to vie for licenses like other private companies. One effect would be to undo the merger of Veikkaus with the slot business Raha-automaattiyhdistys and horseracing wagering operator Fintoto.
The government stated, “The introduction of the license model must be based on a careful investigation of the social effects of the reform and especially its effects on the prevalence of gambling problems.”
The Finnish online gambling trade association Rahapeliala, founded last year, had called for the breakup of the monopoly. After the announcement it stated, “We are pleased to see how the government has recognized the need to renew our gambling system to the realities of today’s technology.”
The announcement followed months of negotiations after the April elections when the exact make-up of the government coalition was determined.
It also followed a government study comparing gambling monopolies in other comparable countries, with countries that use an open market.
