Veikkaus Efforts to Reduce Problem Gambling Prove Effective
Veikkaus, the Finnish lottery monopoly, has said that problem gambling has fallen to an all-time low in the country since it introduced loss limits on its slot machines. At the same time, revenue from the machines is expected to fall by more than 80%.
There has been a loss limit on online slots for quite some time. It was initially set at €2,000 per month and this was decreased to €500 in April 2020. The lower limit was made permanent in June 2021 and it was then extended to physical slot machines in August 2021.
Data released by Veikkaus shows that from September to October approximately 100,000 players stopped gambling after reaching their loss limit. The operator’s chief data officer and vice president of data and analytics, Lauri Halkola, said that players reached the limit 60% more often in September and October than in earlier months this year. Furthermore, more than 80% of these cases involved self-imposed loss limits of under €200.
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Understandably, this means that revenue from slot machines has fallen. It was €683 million in 2019 and is expected to be in the region of €200 million to €220 million next year.
Susanna Saikkonen, Veikkaus’ vice president of sustainability, believes that this is due to a reduction in player numbers and a decrease in the number of slot machines. There are now less than 10,000 slot machines in the country compared to 18,500 in 2019.
Ever since the compulsory loss limits were introduced, gambling has fallen significantly in the groups of both men and women, and in all age groups, and the differences between gambling rates have evened out. The most drastic drops have occurred in the groups playing the most and in the oldest age groups.
Saikkonen added, “Our extensive sustainability measures have aimed at reducing problem gambling in particular. Our most recent indicators suggest that we are definitely going to the right direction. In other words, gaming – especially slots – is clearly at a turning point.”
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