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Finland’s Veikkaus to Enforce Player Authentication for Slots in Jan 2021
By Jeff Osienya Dec 16, 2020 LegalityFinland continues with its heavy-handed approach to deal with underage and compulsive gambling in the country. Beginning next year, the mandatory slot machine authentication will begin as 8,000 machines are taken offline.Veikkaus Oy, Finland’s state-operated betting agency has announced that it will be introducing its controversial compulsory authentication system across all its land-based slot machines starting on 12th January next year. The mandatory verification checks for slot machine players are part of the heavily contentious measure first outlined in the revised Finnish Lotteries Act which was to become effective from 2023.
But then, Veikkaus lobbied for the government to bring forward the compulsory identification checks so that the state can tighten responsible gambling controls much sooner. Lawmakers granted the operator’s wish and amended the Finnish Lotteries Act to pave way for the rollout of the tougher measures for slot machine players two years early.
Jari Heino, Veikkaus’ Senior Vice President for channels and sales voiced his approval for the move, giving players a take it or leave it option by saying;
Quote“Mandatory authentication is a very efficient way of preventing problem gambling and facilitating age limit controls. The players can also choose to ban their Slots Gaming completely as of 12 January 2021, if they wish. Later, we will also be making other responsibility tools available for players. Compulsory authentication will be adopted at Veikkaus Arcades in summer 2021.”
Until the new mandatory registration come into effect in January, all slot machines will be sending players a notification after every 15 minutes of gaming.
More Restrictive Measures to Come for Finnish Slot Players in 2021
It appears that 2021 is going to be another year of radical and perhaps even industry-crippling change for Finland’s gaming market. Apart from the mandatory checks for brick-and-mortar slot players, the state-operated betting agency is planning to take 8,000 machines offline by the start of 2021.
At first, Veikkaus had committed to decommissioning 3,500 machines but went ahead and bump up the number by more than twice to tackle problem gambling more aggressively – at least from the gaming operator’s point of view. This means that by January next year, the government steered operator will have slashed its network of retail slot machines by 40% inside a year. Only 10,500 machines will be operational after the 8,000 machines are taken offline.
True to their cause of protecting youngsters and fighting problem gambling at all costs, Veikkaus Oy is willing to suffer through hefty losses. The operator recorded over 28.1% in revenue dip year-on-year to €607.2m for h1 2020, and a 33.6% slip in profits at €332.7m over the same period. Of course, part of the decline is also attributed to the Coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, an August survey conducted by Taloustutkumus, commissioned by the state-owned gaming operator reported a slight decline in problem gambling within 1 year, from 2.8% to 2.3% (95,000 people).
As well-intended as Veikkaus’ measures are, Finland should be wary of the potentially detrimental consequences that their approach could bring for the gaming industry. A lot of countries are getting it right without resolving to such draconian tactics. Indeed, the number of problem gamblers is going down, but what about players who are doing it responsibly? Shouldn’t they be given the freedom to enjoy the activity at their discretion? What Finland is doing here is like trying to smoke out a rat by burning down the house!
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