Veikkaus full-year GGR falls again
The state-controlled operator reported gross gaming revenue of €1.03bn.
Finland.- The Finnish state-owned gambling operator has reported results from a challenging year as it prepares for the end of its monopoly on gambling in the country. The operator reported revenue of €1.03bn, down by 3.6 per cent. That follows a 3 per cent decline in 2022.
Materials and services revenue totalled €130.3m. Meanwhile, parent company Veikkaus Oy reported profit of €585m, down 14 per cent due to lottery tax coming in at 42.4 per cent higher than in 2022.
The company said 54.8 per cent of sales were via digital, up 4.5 per cent year-on-year. Eurojackpot and Lotto games generated €151.1m (no change) and €136m (down 8.9 per cent).
Veikkaus hailed its advances in ID verification, with authenticated gambling accounting for 90.6 per cent of domestic gambling revenue. It reported 2.5 million registered customers, a rise of 8 per cent.
The operator said the ID rules will have impacted on revenue. It has since introduced mandatory identification for the purchase of scratchcards from the start of this year.
Chief financial officer Regina Sippel said: “Veikkaus’ profits and performance in 2023 were as expected and we can be satisfied as a whole. The year was particularly successful for our online games and Veikkaus will continue to deepen its investments in its digital channel.”
Susanna Saikkonen, vice-president for sustainability, said: “Today, all of our games, including all physical scratchcards, are subject to the identification requirement. This means that we have become a global pioneer in ensuring the responsibility of our gambling operations.”
She added: “Using the data, we can analyse our players’ gambling habits and identify the signs of high-risk gambling. In 2023, our gambling harm prediction system helped us make over 3,700 calls to at-risk players and we also introduced an automation-based care and communication model for high-risk customers.”
The future of Veikkaus
With Finland to open its gambling market to competition by 2026, Veikkaus is preparing for the end of its monopoly. It has closed Casino Tampere and several gaming arcades.
Veikkaus plans to split into three units ahead of the market opening, reversing the 2017 merger between Veikkaus (betting), Raha-automaattiyhdistys (slots) and Fintoto (horse racing betting). Each of the three units will be led by a senior vice president.
Nora Vähävirta, the present chief operating officer of business operations, will take the role for the unit dedicated to domestic gaming, slot machines and arcades. Jarkko Nordlund, who became an executive director at Veikkaus in September, will be SVP for domestic online casino and betting operations and Jonas Reuter, who also joined in September, will take the corresponding position for international business.
