Finnish Cabinet Committee Set to Punish Unregulated Operators

Finland’s Cabinet Committee of Economic Policy shed outlines of new measures designed to strengthen the country’s gambling state monopoly.

New measures are set to be implemented in order to deter and punish unregulated operators targeting the Finnish market and breaching the current rules and regulations of the Finnish Lotteries Act. The Committee are set to have a special emphasis on unregulated igaming and betting operations targeting players in the region.

Finland, is currently one of the highest revenue grossing markets in European igaming, with high revenue generation per igaming customer, and a market which is considered amongst the best value for betting and gaming operators.

The Cabinet Committee is set to target illegal marketing of igaming products, through such mediums as radio, online display advertising and cross border television programing targeting Finnish customers.

It is unknown whether Finland and its regulators of igaming will take on-board, punishment measures implemented in other European gaming jurisdictions. These include blacklisting igaming operators and URL blocks on regional IP’s.

The new provisions for punishment and monitoring of igaming are set to be in place by the end of 2014. The Committee further stated that the policies are based on the European Commission decision to not take action with regards to Finland’s current gambling monopoly.