Finnish gambling monopoly divides locals

The Finnish monopoly has divided the population on a recent poll, as 31% wants it gone, but 27% of the total 1,000 surveyed don’t.

Finland.- Finnish gambling monopoly Veikkaus may soon be abolished as a majority of locals wants it gone, a recent survey showed. However, only 31% does, while another 27% would be against the move and the rest is unsure, the study showed.

Polling specialist Bilendi – on behalf of iGaming affiliate Kasino Curt – conducted the survey on a total 1,000 people. The results showed that locals would prefer licencing to be open to private operators, rather than just being a state monopoly.

According to 31%, Veikkaus will lose the monopoly status within 10 years, while 24% thinks it won’t. The 35-44 age bracket believes it would endure. However, they were also the most on board with regulatory change, as 37% agreed with the abolition. 13% of those strongly agreed, with 24% partially in favour.

Furthermore, Bilendi showed 38% of male respondents where against the monopoly, while 31% were in favour. Women, however, had closer figures with 23% against and 22% in favour.

“Based on the survey, Finns seem to be divided between those who are in favour of the monopoly position of Veikkaus and those who are against it,” Bilendi senior client service manager Janne Juntunen said. “17% of the respondents had not gambled during the past 12 months, which may at least partially explain why their opinions do not fall at either end of the scale.”