Veikkaus announced that its “short-term” online casino restrictions are now permanent. While promoted as being in the best interest of both players and the economy, gambling-harm stats and economist reviews argue against the decision.
The Finnish online gambling community received some bad news earlier this month when Veikkaus, the country’s government-owned gambling monopoly, announced that several of the short-term gambling restrictions were now permanent.
In response to fears of panic and gambling increases in the country due to pandemic-related job loss and lockdowns, the gaming authority imposed a series of limitations on what they termed “fast-paced online games” and shuttered local lottery draws.
The New Normal
April 2020 saw Veikkaus announce the implementation of strict controls regarding the amount Finnish gamblers would be allowed to lose while playing at an online casino, setting in place both daily and monthly limits.
Finland’s Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo said:
“The reduced maximum loss limit has been in use for a year. Loss limits are a good way to prevent gambling harm. In addition to gambling problems, lowering the loss limit will combat over-indebtedness and livelihood problems, and I am pleased that the daily loss limit will be permanently reduced from €1,000 to €500.”
In addition to the daily €500 daily limit, the gaming authority imposed a maximum loss of €2000 per month. These limits were initially intended to come to an end on June 30th, 2020.
In a recent update on the status of gambling in the country, Ohisalo confirmed that the government has decided to make these limits a permanent part of the country’s online gambling legislation.
Contradictory Reasoning
The only cause for concern regarding the decision taken by Veikkaus and the government to formalise the loss limits on losses is the fact they are lying about their reasoning. In her announcement, as we show above, she refers to the dangers of gambling harm, over-indebtedness, and risk to family livelihoods as the driving force behind the decision.
However, in earlier reports, Veikkaus proudly announced that online gambling figures had only shown a nominal migration of land-based gamblers to online sites, with no noteworthy increase in problem gambling ratios.
In addition to no increased risk from online gambling, the Finnish economy was one of the least affected economies in the Eurozone.
The following table from ING Bank N.V. shows Finland’s rapid recovery:
The reality of a low-risk online gambling sector and empirical evidence of the strength and recovery of the Finnish economy would seem to strike at the very heart of Ohisalo’s proposed reasons for making the daily and monthly limits permanent.
Video slots have improved since the days of the three-reel slot games, with a greater number of paylines and ways to win, and superb features all designed to keep you playing. Knowing how these work can guide you to maximise your potential profits.
Kate Gavrilenko of Platipus Gaming explains how slot mathematical models are built, balancing RTP, volatility, probabilities, payouts and bonus features for successful games.
Let’s look at three exclusive welcome bonuses available to online players through GamblersPick. Grab any of the following exclusive promotions and start playing at trusted, reviewed online casinos with generous offers available regularly.
Casinos
Games
Jackpots
