Gambling regulations in Finland differ from gambling laws adopted in other Scandinavian countries. While Sweden and Denmark have renounced their state gambling monopoly, the Finnish government still controls all gambling sites in the country through its gaming agency Veikkaus.
The agency annually gives about €1 billion in profit to government ministries and more than €200 million in taxes. This constitutes nearly 2 percent of the Finnish government’s budget. In return for this money, the government authorizes Veikkaus to administer Casino Helsinki, all Feel Vegas slot halls, 20,000 slot machines, and its online website. Veikkaus also manages Veikkaus lottery and various events organized in brick-and-mortar casinos.
There are several brick-and-mortar casinos in Finland. The largest one is Casino Helsinki opened in the country’s capital. Casino Helsinki might not be mentioned among the World’s best casino hotspots, but it enjoys popularity among Finnish players.
Finns like to visit it because it allows room for entertainment, meeting them with 300 slot machines, 32 live gaming tables, and a well-equipped Poker room. Another casino is located away from Mainland Finland, in the capital of the Aland Islands, Mariehamn.
It is the Arkipelag Hotel & Casino run by the PAF, which is smaller than Casino Helsinki and is often snubbed by experienced gamblers who consider its arsenal of games insufficient. Veikkaus also supervises Feel Vegas slot halls, where people play table games – Baccarat, Poker, Roulette, and Craps – at lower prices than in the two casinos.
Those Finnish gamblers who do not want to go to land-based casinos can gamble online. There are numerous new online casinos 2020 on the internet, which are called in Finnish “uudet nettikasinot 2020” and which Finnish people can easily access.
Local gambling websites in Finland are fully licensed and maintained by Finland’s Slot Machine Association (PAF) and RAY. The former entity operates virtual casinos in the Aland Province. The latter supervises them in Mainland Finland. There are poker rooms on both types of websites, though only PAF’s poker rooms are open to foreign players.
The Finnish government ensures that gamblers’ data stay secure. There are also certain conditions that Finnish players should meet in order to register with any licensed website. They must be at least 18 years old, have a Finnish bank account, a Finnish social security number, and a permanent address in Finland.
Before they start wagering, gamblers need to set up daily and monthly loss limits. Last month, the maximum monthly loss limit was reduced by the Finnish government to €500. The maximum daily loss limit was also lowered to €500, which means that if a gambler spends €500 within one day, he or she will not be able to place a bet until the beginning of the next month.
These amendments were introduced to prevent people from wasting large amounts of money at online casinos during the coronavirus pandemic. The restriction will remain in force until the 30th of September.
Finnish players can also access foreign websites that have the EU license as well as sign up with unlicensed online casino operators. Unlicensed websites are not outlawed in Finland, though the Finnish government considers them illegal.
There is also no law in the country that proclaims monetary transfers to unlicensed casino providers to be a criminal offense. Finns thus freely transfer money abroad, when they choose to bet at unlicensed gambling websites.
The Finnish government is presently discussing the possibility of IP-blocking unlicensed websites in the future, but for now, it can only disallow them to advertise their services in Finland.
There are other changes that the Finnish government plans to make in its Lotteries Act. It might forbid people to gamble without a Veikkaus gambling account. But because now the Finnish government is busy with lifting the national lockdown and establishing post-quarantine rules, its plans to reform the Lotteries Act are put off until a calmer time.
