Veikkaus named a new Ethics Advisory Board

The Board of Directors of Veikkaus has appointed an expert advisory board at its December meeting.

Finland.- Veikkaus has announced that its Board of directors appoints at its December meeting an expert advisory board, the Ethics Advisory Board. The company had decided to establish the board during its August meeting.

The purpose of the advisory board is to provide an outside view of the company’s board and operative management on gambling activities. The Advisory Board focuses in particular on the ethics of games and their marketing, gaming harm and the social impact of gaming.

The Advisory Board may make concrete proposals for solutions, make statements, and provide ethical arguments on practical issues related to gambling and the discussion on gambling. It does not resolve individual issues or complaints from outside parties.

In addition to the Chairperson, the Advisory Committee will have five members and will serve for a term of two years. The Chairman will report to the Board by the end of March on the activities of the Council during the previous calendar year.

“The establishment of an Ethics Board complements the company’s new, broad-based corporate responsibility measures. We are investing in developing a safer and more responsible gaming environment, and the Ethics Council outside the company’s operations is an important part of that,” said Pekka Ilmivalta, Executive Vice President, Legal and Responsibility at Veikkaus.

Veikkaus to reduce number of slot machines

The company will see the total number of slot machines being reduced to 15k by the end of 2020. The changes are part of the company’s commitment to responsible gambling.

Service stations and hypermarkets will only be able to feature seven slot machines, which is a reduction from the 12 that they currently have. The limit for all other outlets drops to five slot machines.

By the end of 2020, approximately one-fifth of Veikkaus’ distribute slot machines (around 3,500) will be phased out. The total number of slot machines is approximately 18,500, and it is believed that one-third of network of sales outlets (2,200) will be affected by future reductions.