A recent poll of Finnish residents found that most of those surveyed do not trust Finland’s MPs when it comes to gaming policy, do not support the Veikkaus gaming monopoly, and have a lower opinion of Veikkaus than they did when a previous survey was conducted in March.
The poll, conducted by Bilendi Oy and commissioned by affiliate Kasino Curt, found that the majority of Finns, especially older people, distrust MPs when it comes to their gaming policies.
When given the statement, “Veikkaus does enough work to eliminate the harmful effects of gambling,” only 8 percent strongly agreed and 19 percent partially agreed. In March, 33 percent strongly agreed and 34 percent strongly disagreed.
The survey also found that 41 percent of the population want to break Veikkaus’s gambling monopoly in the country, while only 28 percent want to keep it together. Forty-five percent of respondents believe the monopoly will end in the next 10 years.
Some 40 percent of Finns are opposed to Veikkaus marketing its games, while 29 percent approve of the company advertising. Veikkaus has cut back marketing efforts significantly since March, including slashing its marketing budget by more than 70 percent for the second quarter of 2019 and putting an end to marketing its land-based slots.
Finns were more divided on whether Finland’s justification to the EU for its gambling monopoly—that it is necessary to reduce gambling harm—is accurate, while almost one-third of respondents said they agreed with the justification wholly or in part.
On September 5, Veikkaus announced its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2019 with turnover, revenue and profit all falling as CEO Olli Sarekoski acknowledged the future of its gambling monopoly was in question.
The company also acknowledged a series of new social responsibility controls. As well as putting an end to advertising its land-based slots, it announced the reduction in the number of slot machines it operates. The company will also introduce compulsory identity controls and Sarekoski said it may even withdraw certain games from the market in the near future.
