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Is Finland’s State-Run Gambling Monopoly, Veikkaus, Doing More Harm Than Good?
By Shane Addinall Aug 30, 2019 OpinionFinland’s state-owned gambling monopoly, Veikkaus, fights desperately to maintain its position in the face of rampant job losses, targeting poor communities as revenue sources and shocking advertisements that promote gambling addiction as ‘normal’.A recent poll by Finnish polling specialist Bilendi, commissioned by gambling information site Kasino Curt, shows that 31% of Finns supported the end of a state-run gambling monopoly, while 27% were neutral. Only 27% were in favour of the state maintaining its monopoly.
Given up to 80% of all Finns participate in gambling as a leisure pastime the results may lean even further in favour of license-based gambling, as seen in Sweden, rather than the current state-run system after it’s abhorrent advertising, predatory targeting of lower-income and at-risk residents and rampant job losses.
Veikkaus Drops The Ball, A lot!
Finland's Veikkaus gambling monopoly has come under from the local populace for seemingly losing their way – there has been a shift from protecting the people of Finland from potential to putting profit above all else. This shift in focus once led Janne Nikkinen, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, to call Finland’s gambling monopoly a “Robin Hood system in reverse”.
The proof of this self-interest is seen in three areas of their behaviour advertising standards, slot machine placement and job cuts (rather than creation):
✓ Dear Gambling Addict, Gamble More!
August 2019 saw Veikkaus, the body responsible for caretaking Finland's gamblers, run a series of adverts centred around a “therapist” assisting a “problem gambler”. In these adverts, the therapist asserts that the players craving are normal, and advises to satisfy them by visiting a racetrack to place a bet, or logging onto a Veikkaus gambling site to place a wager!
The public outrage was immediate and vocal, with many believing that this is just another example of Veikkaus putting profits above people.
Olli Sarekoski, CEO of Veikkaus’s said:
“Some of our ads have been such that they do not comply with the company's approved marketing guidelines. We take responsibility for them, we are really sorry for the anger we have caused, and we will learn from our mistakes”
His words are falling on deaf ears however as this is not the first time that Veikkaus has been accused of trying to find ways of normalising gambling and sidestepping the realities of possible addictive behaviour.
Their previous advert likened gambling on a Veikkaus casino game to drinking coffee. An assertion to asinine and harmful that the National Police Board publicly called them out on it.
✓ Give The Poor More Slot Machines
In addition to the outrage over Veikkaus simply filling any gathering place or high traffic location anywhere in Finland with casino tables and slot machines, there is also credible proof that lower-income and at-risk communities have been targeted.
All slot machines are given a profit target based on location and foot traffic, machines that out gross their targets result in Veikkaus simply placing more machines in that location in order to maximise profits. This is profit-seeking behaviour and exhibits no desire to intervene in areas where addictive behaviour may flourish.
According to the 2018 study led by Finland’s National Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) this has led to problem gambling among demographic groups that already have little to no money to spare.
Jani Selin, Finnish gambling policy expert and a researcher at THL:
“People who come from lower socio-economic circumstances tend to gamble more," … "It’s an almost universally accepted claim. It is the same in Finland. We have known this for a long time."
This includes pensioners, the long term unemployed and those recently laid-off from work and seeking an outlet or simply desperate for the money needed to meet their financial needs. The people Veikkaus should be protecting, not targeting.
✓ Veikkaus Cuts 400 Jobs, For Now
Whether through hubris or poor management decisions it seems that Veikkaus may have grown too large too soon with over 18,000 slot machines nationwide, and that excludes their swathe of table games. They are presently in talks with more than 1300 staff members regarding cost-cutting measures which will include 400 guaranteed job cuts.
Veikkaus CEO, Olli Sarekoski, has been vocal about one point – it is not their fault. Rather he has blamed the need to reduce their staff costs on government-induced legislation requiring the machines to incorporate identification verification technology (available at the earliest in 2022).
Blaming this on the government falls flat in the face of 2018 report by executive Finnish vice president Velipekka Nummikoski, where she stated that “Veikkaus’ position is that authentication, where users verify their identities before they can play, would be the best way to deal with problem gambling”.
Not satisfied with blaming the government for their woe’s Olli Sarekoski has also taken aim at the online gambling community by claiming that the incursion of “intensifying digital competition” has necessitated their staff layoffs. A weak assertion given that Veikkaus is literally the only game in town – land-based or digital – given that they are the state-run gambling monopoly.
In short under Sarekoski’s leadership Veikkaus made poor fiscal and expansion decisions which is now going to cost hundreds of Finnish families their incomes. Rather than own these mistakes and creating solutions Sarekoski spends his time on shifting blame.
Time To Slay The Dragon?
Whether or not Veikkaus will be shut down in favour of a competitive open market licenced based gambling system in Finland only time will tell. However, what Finland is in desperate need of is a massive overhaul how Veikkaus is run and who they have at the helm. What should be a for-the-people governmental body that controls profit margins while also protecting marginalised and at-risk communities has devolved into a cash hungry corporation that is doing more harm of late than good.
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