FINLAND MARKET REPORT
The Finnish gambling monopoly has faced several challenges in the past, particularly from the European Commission. The debate has centred around whether the measures implemented by the legislation and adapted by the authorities have been sufficient to prevent the negative effects of gambling. In 2006, the Commission launched infringement proceedings against Finland concerning the cross-border provision and marketing of sports betting services, with the intention of assessing the compatibility of the Finnish monopoly-based gambling policy with EU law. 4 The Commission found that Finnish legislation at the time did not consistently meet general interest objectives, such as the protection of consumers. 5 In response, the Finnish Lotteries Act was amended in 2010 and 2012 with measures aimed at better preventing the negative effects of gambling, aligning the system with EU requirements. 6 In 2013, the Commission concluded that the amended law allowed Finland to maintain its monopoly in accordance with EU standards, noting that Finland had implemented a structure to control the growth of gambling, while preventing the monopoly from inciting or encouraging participation. 7 However, in 2021, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) reported that the gambling monopoly had not sufficiently curbed the negative effects of gambling, which was a key condition for its existence. Consequently,
the FCCA proposed amendments to the Lotteries Act to reinforce Veikkaus’s monopoly position and reduce harmful gambling effects. 8 A legislative initiative followed in 2020 to strengthen Veikkaus’s monopoly and implement the FCCA’s proposals. The 2022 reform of the Lotteries Act introduced several significant changes, including expanded mandatory identification, the introduction of payment blocks, enhanced authority for the National Police Board to regulate unauthorised gambling marketing, and the allocation of gambling revenues to the state budget. 9 Despite these efforts, Veikkaus struggled to improve its channelisation rate, particularly due to the growing popularity of online gambling. When the online channelisation rate dropped to nearly 50 percent in 2022, Veikkaus itself suggested that alternative models to the state monopoly should be explored. 10 In early 2023, the Ministry of the Interior initiated an inquiry into alternatives to the monopoly system, specifically concerning online gambling. 11 The inquiry culminated in a report in April 2023, leading to a section in the new government programme on the abolition of the monopoly and the subsequent launch of a legislative project in October 2023 to draft a new gambling act. The final version, giving the official form for the Finnish Gambling Act, is expected in February 2025, with the new law anticipated to take effect in January 2026.
4 European Commission, Free Movement of Services: Commission Inquires into Restrictions on Sports Betting Services in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden (European Commission, 4 April 2006). <https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/ detail/en/IP_06_436> accessed 5 September 2024 5 European Commission, ‘Free Movement of Services: Commission Acts to Remove Obstacles to Provision of Sports Betting Services in Denmark, Finland and Hungary’ (European Commission, 26 March 2007) <https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_07_360> accessed 5 September 2024 6 Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle laiksi arpajaislain muuttamisesta ja eräiksi siihen liittyviksi laeiksi (HE 207/2010 vp, 2010) <https://www. eduskunta.fi/FI/vaski/HallituksenEsitys/Documents/he_207+2010.pdf> accessed 7 September 2024; Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle laeiksi arpajaislain sekä eräiden markkinaoikeudellisten asioiden käsittelystä annetun lain 2 ja 7 § muuttamisesta (HE 96/2008 vp, 2008). <https://www.eduskunta.fi/FI/vaski/HallituksenEsitys/Documents/he_96+2008.pdf> accessed 7 Sep- tember 2024 7 The Commission found that Finland had established the necessary structure to ensure that the operation of the monopoly applies a policy of con- trolled growth in the gambling sector, aiming to channel the propensity to gamble into controlled activities, and that the monopoly did not incite or encourage consumers to participate in gambling. European Commission, ‘Commission Requests Member States to Comply with EU Law When Regulating Gambling Services’ (European Commis- sion, 20 November 2013) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_13_1101 accessed 3 September 2024 8 Please see the following report for more information: Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA), Näkökulmia suomalaiseen ra- hapelaamiseen (KKV Selvityksiä4/2021, 2021) 17 < https://www.kkv.fi/uploads/sites/2/2021/11/2021-kkv-selvityksia-4-2021-nakokulmia-suo- malaiseen-rahapelaamiseen.pdf> 9 See more information on the 2020 reform here: Finnish Parliament, ‘Arpajaislain uudistus’ (Parliament of Finland, 2022) <https://www.edu- skunta.fi/FI/naineduskuntatoimii/kirjasto/aineistot/kotimainen_oikeus/LATI/Sivut/arpajaislain-uudistus.aspx> accessed 27 August 2024 10 Please see page 3 in Veikkaus, Osavuosikatsaus tammi-kesäkuu 2022 (2022) <https://cms.veikkaus.fi/sites/default/files/content/assets/vu- osikertomus/2022/veikkaus_osavuosikatsaus_tammi_kesakuu_2022.pdf> accessed 11 September 2024 11 Finnish Ministry of the Interior, Esiselvityshanke: kanavointikykyinen rahapelijärjestelmä – vaihtoehtojen tarkaste lu (SM001:00/2023, 2023) <https://intermin.fi/hankkeet/hankesivu?tunnus=SM001:00/2023> accessed 16 September 2024
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IMGL MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2024
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