Veikkaus rejects Finnish gambling reports

The Finnish gambling monopoly Veikkaus has dismissed media reports indicating that players spend as much as €11 billion in gaming machines.

Finland.- Recent media reports had generated concerns about player expenses in Finland. However, Finnish gambling monopoly Veikkaus emphatically denied said such information.

According to local media, players were spending up to €11 billion across Veikkaus gaming machines. They reported, instead, that their actual figures show a €840.3 million figure in 2018.

Chief financial officer Regina Sippel explained the media calculated its report with ‘non-existing’ money. She referred to when a player deposits €10 in a machine, wins €200 and then spends it all without withdrawing it.

Sippel said that although a turnover of €200 may have been calculated over the course of the consumer’s playing time, the player only lost €10 in the gaming session, as this is how much the player deposited into the machine.

“From the customer’s point of view, he played and lost €10, not €200,” Sippel said. “In this case, turnover may accrue on each spin of the game, but it gives a completely false picture of the actual sum lost.”

Reponsibility

The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority has urged Veikkaus to take gambling and the problems around it seriously. The authority asked the state-owned monopoly Veikkaus to introduce a series of changes to its operating procedures.

The Director-General of the authority, Kirsi Leivo, told Yle that the company’s profits should be paid to the state. She explained that by doing this, Veikkaus would stop the links with the organisations and projects funded by gambling revenue. “If the money went to the state budget, this would offer a clear solution for the beneficiaries,” she said.

Veikkaus currently sends money to three government ministries, which get sent to other beneficiaries. Leivo said that if sent to the state budget, the money to beneficiaries would not be directly tied to Veikkaus.