State-owned gambling operators merge in Finland

Three state-owned gambling operators, Veikkaus Oy, Raha-automaattiyhdistys and Fintoto Oy merges to create Veikkaus.

Finland.- Finland’s gambling industry has been controlled by three state owned gambling operators: Veikkaus Oy which monitored local betting and the national lottery; Raha-automaattiyhdistys (RAY) controlled the casino industry and Fintoto Oy, which was in charge of pari-mutuel betting. Back in 2015, the government decided in 2015 that it would be better to merge all three state owned gambling operators into one major operator. Now the government has confirmed that the new operator will function under the name of Veikkaus and will launch during the first half of 2017.

Veikkaus will operate under a new brand and logo upon its launch in 2017. The new operator is currently looking for a CEO and will provide employment opportunities to nearly 2,000 individuals. A multi-stage study was conducted to rebrand the new company and the survey revealed that close to 5,000 Finns wanted the name Veikkaus because it means ‘security and responsibility.’

As the sole gambling operator in Finland, Veikkaus will be responsible for monitoring all forms of betting in the European country and it will be in charge of all gambling regulation.