We’ve written before how some countries are doing everything in their power to apply strict rules when it comes to the gambling industry.
One of them is Finland and, in the last couple of months, it has been trying to incorporate new, useful regulations that are going to help monitor anything concerning gambling.
Is This Enough?
According to some research that was conducted recently, such efforts have clearly not been enough. These attempts to change the current situation are certainly beneficial, but more must be done in order to alter things significantly.
Ultimately, both operators and legislators must get involved in order to protect those who are actively gambling.
In the last couple of years, this country has experienced some major issues with gambling addiction and unfortunately, it has continued to rise.
All this information was discovered precisely in the survey mentioned above, which was carried out by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
What Was Their Goal?
Namely, they wanted to stipulate how consolidation the three state-run gambling operators into one entity has affected both the industry as well as its consumers.
This research was conducted by the Institute for Health and Welfare along with Helsinki University, Statistic Finland and Peliklinikka, a problem gambling prevention organization.
They interviewed around 2,600 Finnish individuals who were either eighteen or older. Furthermore, Yle, a Finnish media outlet stated that in the last couple of years, gambling among men has declined, however, both gambling along with gambling addiction has become graver.
Two years ago, Veikkaus was running the country’s national lottery. Gaming machine operators, Ray, and horse betting operator, Fintoto, were integrated back then with a goal to provide an overview of gambling activity in this country and to everything that was in their power to decrease instances of excessive gambling.
What About Gambling Ads?
Social scientist, Matilda Hellman, gave a statement for Yle and said:
“It was definitely optimistic to think that something would have changed. Gambling has the same cultural and social functions for Finnish residents.”
She has also stated that government policies are crucial when it comes to monitoring this industry and added:
“The fusion of Fintoto, Ray and Veikkaus hasn’t particularly helped to regulate the sector.”
It’s worth mentioning that approximately twenty-seven percent of people who were interviewed said that Veikkaus, which currently supervises all three gambling entities is continuously promoting their services by creating several ads.
Back in 2018, a survey of a similar kind was conducted and back then, around seventeen percent claimed the same.
Furthermore, 16% of them added that these advertisements somehow convinced them to gamble more, while sixty-five percent maintained that such ads didn’t affect them in any way.
Still, it looks like people are eager to reduce the impact of this industry as much as they can. For instance, a few days ago, a group of individuals asked for deposition of video gambling machines from gas stations and grocery stores.
These efforts were quite successful because they were able to collect 7,400 signatures from those who agree with them.
Source: “Finland Has A Worsening Gambling Problem” https://calvinayre.com/2019/03/28/business/finland-has-a-worsening-gambling-problem/. CalvinAyre. April 1, 2019
