Finnish government unveils new licensing regime research group
Ministry of the Interior sets its stall out with four-person body given 13 months to explore legislative change
The Finnish government has established a new research group to examine the route to a multi-licensed commercial gambling market.
The Ministry of the Interior has given the green light for the project to explore the legislative and legal changes that would be required to shift from the current monopoly system to an open model.
Finland is the only EU member state to still boast an online gambling monopoly set-up, with Veikkaus – formed in 2017 when three firms merged – the only entity allowed to legally take bets in the Nordic country.
The report will also lay out how the overhaul to Finland’s online gambling regulatory framework could impact the government’s income and expenses in different ways.
The body will examine gambling markets throughout other European nations to inform its findings, with a core focus on preventing gambling-related harm to be implemented.
The Ministry of the Interior has appointed a four-person team to manage the research project, which will last until 15 April 2023.
The body will be chaired by Finnish economist and former CEO of Ilmarinen Harri Sailas.
Sailas will be supported by Mikko Alkio, a partner at law firm Roschier, and the former Minister of Justice Tuija Brax.
The team is completed by Riitta Matilainen who heads up the gambling harm prevention unit at the Finnish Association for Substance Abuse Prevention.
Akseli Koskel, state secretary to the Minister of the Interior Krista Mikkonen, will monitor the group.
The body will also be supported by a civil servant working group made up of staff from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Chancellery, the Ministry of Labour and the Economy, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior.
Minister of the Interior Mikkonen said: “It is important that the development of technology and changes in the operating environment are monitored in the gambling industry.
“Our national legislation is unable to deal with all aspects of gaming disadvantages caused by games from companies outside the exclusive rights system, even though a significant part of digital gaming takes place through them.
“With the investigation project set up now, a situational picture will be created and a survey will be made of the social benefits and disadvantages of various gambling systems,” she added.