It has been confirmed that the Finnish gambling monopoly, which has Veikkaus as its core provider, will be dismantled by late 2026. However, it is still a state-owned Monopoly, and having it fined and banned from running ads for 90 days reflects poorly on the government and those in charge of the operator, especially when the controversy centres around advertising that intentionally targets minors.

 Veikkaus Slapped with a Massive Fine

While regulatory authorities looking into online casinos' advertising and promotional schedules is nothing new, what is new in this case is the size of the fine that has been applied. According to industry reports, Veikkaus was slapped with an incredible €2.9 million fine for allegedly placing advertising in programming aimed at children.

While the operator is complying fully with the country's Police Board and assisting them by providing any documentation required, this action did not soften the situation. In addition to the massive fine which the company now has to pay, they have also received a temporary marketing ban, which means that they cannot run any advertising aimed at finish players for the next three months.

Is a Legal Interpretation at Fault?

On the surface, it is easy to consider that gaming operates as the villain in the scenario. We all know that gambling advertising rules of very clear: no advertising must be aimed at people under the age of 18, which includes design, music and the timeslots during which the ads are aired.

However, a statement by MTV's commercial director, Sauli Asikainen, shines a new light on this apparent egregious act. According to Asikainen, the advertising campaign that has recently received such negative attention is a long-standing agreement between the state-run operator and the media company.

In keeping with the recognised legal statutes surrounding casino and betting advertising in Finland, the viewers of the advertising slots were proven to be adults more than 70% of the time. This begs the question, why the big uproar now?

 Vekkaus Intends to Fight Back

According to a Veikkaus representative, Anu Kytö, while the Gambling Act has not changed in this regard, the current leadership of the Police Board appears to have changed how they interpret it. They now deem the balance of 30%, where the viewer's age is undetermined, to be considered "aimed at children" because it has not been labelled as "adults".

Kytö has noted that while the company is complying with all legal requests to speed along the resolution of the inquiry, it will be delving deeper into these alleged new interpretive measures to set the record straight and lay the foundation for future ad campaigns.

The Police Board has yet to clarify whether this was, in fact, the case. If it is true, it will raise questions about the viability of both the €2.9 million fine and the 90-day advertising suspension.

The Police Board will also have to explain why it did not provide Vekkaus with a review period. During that time, they could have ensured that their advertising complies with any new standards or interpretations of existing laws.