The Finnish government’s plans to abandon the monopoly gambling model and launch a competitive market have been under fire lately, or at least some particular aspects. Mika Kuismanen, CEO of Rahapeliala Ry, the Finnish Trade Association for Online Gambling, has shared his concerns regarding the planned restrictions on marketing through an opinion piece, published on the Finnish online media outlet Uusi Suomi.
As Mr Kuismanen commented, instead of opening the market and welcoming competition, the proposed gambling legislation would direct consumers to the gray market. While he reaffirmed his support of the gambling reform, he highlighted his disapproval of several important aspects that did not “promote a well-functioning gambling environment.”
Finland is set to reorganize its gambling industry and transition from a monopoly-based to a competitive market by 2027. Draft regulations concerning marketing, bonuses, and sponsorships introduce some robust restrictions. According to the trade organization, the planned restrictions on gambling marketing were “unjustifiably limiting” and would fail in channeling players to licensed gambling operators.
The concept of channelization denotes the percentage of consumers in a country who choose to create accounts with authorized operators complying with the national licensing system.
Prohibition of Bonuses and Other Incentives Will Lead Consumers to the Gray Market
In addition to the marketing limitations introduced by the draft legislation, the CEO of the gambling trade body further criticized the ban on gambling incentives, including bonuses, loyalty programs, and free games. The prohibition of player incentives would certainly lead to a decline in the level of channelization, according to him. Licensed operators would face unfair competition from unregulated operators who rely on aggressive bonus offers.
Mr Kuismanen further commented on the adopted bonus models in Sweden and Denmark. The Swedish model, according to him, was an example of a “poorly designed bonus system”, as it allowed one bonus only when players opened a new account. This has led to users opening multiple accounts with different operators, which made monitoring individual gaming behavior hard to accomplish.
Denmark, on the other hand, served as a positive example of a gambling market with a well-working bonus system that incentivizes loyal customers at certain intervals.
Last but not least, Mr Kuismanen touched upon the subject of limiting gambling sponsorships. He concluded by stating that these three aspects – marketing, bonuses, and sponsorships, were vital for the successful functioning of the market. He summarized that by adopting the current proposal, players would be fed “into the hands of unlicensed game companies operating on the gray market.”
As CasinoGamesPro recently reported, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has also found faults with certain aspects of the government’s plans to liberalize the gambling sector. The organization’s apprehensions mainly revolved around the prioritization of revenue over consumers’ safety and public health.
