Finland set to bring sweeping changes to Lotteries Act

The Lotteries Act that regulates Finland’s gambling industry is set to amended as the government looks to reduce gambling-related harm in the Nordic nation.

The reforms to the act take on a four-pronged approach targeting identification, marketing, payments and land-based slot machines.

The requirement to identify players would be extended to all of state monopoly operator Veikkaus’s games, with compulsory identification introduced at varying intervals.

All gambling would require identification by 2023 at the latest, except scratchcards, which would require ID by 2024.

In terms of marketing, the proposals suggest the new reform would require marketing to be “moderate”.

In action, this would see the marketing of “particularly harmful” games of chance such as slot machines prohibited.

In visual or printed advertising, companies would be required to include information regarding age limits, self-exclusion and other help schemes for gambling-related harm.

Finally, the advertising of sports betting games, which is currently prohibited, would be allowed.

Elsewhere, the new Lotteries Act would ensure that gambling companies found to have fallen foul of the marketing regulations would have their payment transactions blocked as punishment.

In terms of land-based slot machines, the new regulations would require Veikkaus to take on an obligation for prevention of harm when it comes to electing where to place a new slot machine.

Additionally, as a result of the proposed changes, it would allow Veikkaus to establish a subsidiary to provide B2B services to other operators.

The subsidiary would focus on products but would not be allowed to provide gambling services directly to consumers.

Most of the above amendments are set to enter force by the beginning of 2022, with the regulation of blocking payments coming into action at the beginning of 2023.

The government submitted the proposal to reform the act to parliament on 23 September.