Finland’s gambling monopoly Veikkaus is calling for the implementation of mandatory player identification for slot machines across the country to be pushed earlier than originally planned.
The company’s has been looking to up its social responsibility policies after facing massive public backlash in recent years for not doing enough to protect customers.
RELATED: Finnish Gambling Monopoly to Establish Ethics Council Following Backlash
Under a newly proposed version of the Finnish Lotteries Act, ID checks for slot machines at retail outlets around Finland will become mandatory from 2023. However, Veikkaus recently urged the government to amend the Act and implement the compulsory checks from the beginnings of 2021.
The state-owned company, which is the only organization authorized to provide gambling services in Finland, said last month that it would introduce identity checks at its Feel Vegas and Pelaamo arcades from January next year as part of a wider effort to prevent minors from gambling.
Commenting on their call for earlier implementation of mandatory checks, Veikkaus Senior Vice President for Channels and Sales Jari Heino said that they want to build a gaming environment that will make it possible to look after gamblers experiencing trouble to control their gambling habit and that the compulsory identification will offer them many new opportunities in this respect.
Maximum Loss Limit on Slot Machines
Veikkaus also plans to urge the government to expand the current maximum loss limit for certain online games across slot machines at physical gambling facilities. Mr. Heino said that the loss cap should be implemented by June 2021.
Under current law, the maximum loss limit for online casino games, bingo, and instant win games is set at €1,000 per day and at €2,000 per month. However, these caps were lowered in April by Finland’s Ministry of the Interior to €500 for both daily and monthly losses to help prevent players from gambling excessively during the Covid-19 crisis. The temporary limits will remain in place until September.
RELATED: Finland Online Casino Guide
Other measures announced by Veikkaus as part of its efforts to strengthen its responsible gambling policies include significantly reducing the number of its slot machines around the country. The company originally planned to remove roughly 3,500 of its gaming machines by the end of the year and another 4,500 over the next five years.
However, it said later that it would put offline 8,000 slot machines by the end of 2020. This means that it will ring in 2021 with about 10,500 gambling devices.
The gambling monopoly was heavily hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing closure of physical gambling facilities and the halt of almost all sports. It recorded a 28% decline in revenue during the first half of the year to €607.2 million. Profit was down more than a third to €332.7 million.
Veikkaus warned that it will likely fail to meet its projected €1 billion full-year profit due to the much tougher conditions it is forced to operate under.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories
source https://casinonewsblogger.com/veikkaus-calls-for-earlier-implementation-of-slot-machine-identification/
No comments:
Post a Comment