Finland could be thinking about ending the Veikkaus Gaming Monopoly.

There is growing support for splitting up Finland’s state-run gambling company. Tytti Tuppurainen, who is Minister of European Affairs and Ownership Steering, wants the next government to break up the Veikkaus monopoly.

Veikkaus has said that Finland might not benefit from the monopoly. The Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP), which supports monopolies, thinks that licensing is a good idea.

A group of political parties says that polls show that people want to end Veikkaus’ monopoly. If the coalition and SDP worked together, digital games could be licensed to foreign game companies.

Walls Fall

If the Veikkaus monopoly ends, there could be more online casinos and betting options. Veikkaus is only for close games like slots, lottery games, and Lotto.

Also, a study of a multi-permit system has been sped up. “It’s great that the opposition agrees,” said Tytti Tuppurainen, the Finnish minister in charge of European affairs and ownership steering.

Lotteries are run by the SDP and Local Government Minister Sirpa Paatero. In addition, the SDP is shown by the chair of the party council.

Tuppurainen said in an interview with Norway’s MTV News that he thinks momentum will pick up soon. She wants to start doing focused research this month and come up with an answer before the legislative elections in April.

Sari Multala, a Conservative MP, backs the change. She works on gaming policies for the government with a group of groups.

The group of politicians came to a number of agreements. They want to end the Veikkaus monopoly because online gaming is becoming more popular and having just one operator makes it hard to grow. So, more players are using sites outside of Finland, which doesn’t help Finland.

The Finnish Ministry of the Interior may evaluate this month.

Veikkaus Changes

Veikkaus keeps making lottery adjustments to make gaming safer. It just said that this year, ID will be needed for all coupon games, including scratch-offs.

Moreover, this might be the end of some games. People used to buy lottery tickets from kiosks or stores and share them with many other players.

The person selling the lottery tickets will soon ask for group ID. This could make people less likely to buy tickets.

The Lotteries Act of 2022 requires people to show their ID. A valid ID is needed to play games.

Veikkaus requires it to prevent gambling disorders. If the data shows that a player is at risk, the lottery operator can stop ID holders from gambling.

The date for change is July 1, 2023.