Veikkaus announces new personalised safer gambling measures
The state-owned gambling operator will introduce age-specific notifications and loss limits.
Finland.- While speculation about possible sale of Veikkaus continues, Finland’s state-owned gambling operator is introducing a fresh suite of personalised safer gambling measures. From June 9, Veikkaus will introduce age-based loss notification and limits.
Customers will see a new notification system integrated into their profiles. This system will track losses and issue alerts once certain thresholds are reached. Whereas Veikkaus currently has a uniform €24,000 annual cap on losses for all players, the new model introduces age-based checkpoints, with younger gamblers facing earlier interventions and limits.
For 18 to 19 year olds, alerts will be triggered when losses near €4,000 and an annual cap will be set at €8,000. For 20 to 24 year old, the notifications will be issued at close to €8,000; while the annual limit remains €24,000. Players aged over 25 will only be notified once their losses approach that €24,000 cap.
Susanna Saikkonen, Veikkaus’ Director of Responsibility, explained: “Lower loss limits are being set for young customers because their financial situation and life situation are often still developing and the risks related to gambling can be greater. Lower limits are a preventive measure with which we want to support safe and controlled gambling, helping young people monitor their own gambling and stop in time if necessary.”
She added that the company’s objective is to use real-time data to better identify harmful play and to provide proactive communication. When a player nears their alert threshold, a member of Veikkaus’ safer gambling team will reach out to discuss the situation. If appropriate, a higher threshold can be agreed upon.
“Our goal is to identify harmful gaming better than before using real-time data and to offer customers proactive care communications,” Saikkonen, adding: “In the discussion, the customer’s situation is assessed according to a previously agreed operating model. If the decision is made to continue gambling, the next loss checkpoint can be agreed with the customer.”
The initiative follows the approach taken by the Åland Islands’ state-owned operator Paf, who is likely to become a direct competitor for Veikkaus once Finland’s new regulated online gambling market opens in July 2027, ending Veikkaus’s monopoly on online gambling in the country. Paf has been gradually lowering its tiered loss limits for its customers. Both operators look set to position themselves as the market’s leaders in responsibility and player safety.
Meanwhile, both operators are also expanding internationally. Veikkaus’s B2B arm Fennica Gaming already has a presence in 17 markets across three continents, and the company now aims to establish itself as a significant gambling provider in Europe by 2030. Paf this week announced that it was buying Casino Bell to expand its shipboard gaming portfolio.
