A review of the Finnish gaming system
Saaramia Varvio. STAKES Working Papers 24/2007.
Abstract
This publication is a general presentation of the Finnish gaming
system, its development stages and international issues closely
related to it, including the role of the EU in the Finnish gaming
system. Moreover, this review includes brief case reports of the
central decisions of Finland, the Court of Justice of the European
Communities and the Court of Justice of the European Free Trade
Association regarding games of chance, as well as descriptions of
the gaming systems in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK and New
Zealand.
The Finnish gaming system has been realised as a legal monopoly.
Due to its historical development, it has been divided between
three monopoly undertakings. The Finnish Lotteries Act divides
permitted gaming activities into three groups so that the games
falling within each group are organised by one gaming operator.
The key act regulating the running of gaming activities and
gaming in Finland is the new Lotteries Act (1047/2001) which
entered into force in 2002. According to the basic outline
regarding the Finnish gaming system, the utilisation of people's
willingness to gamble for earning purposes is only permitted to a
limited extent and solely for raising funds for charity or in
support of other, non-profit activities. The underlying principle
of the Lotteries Act is that, as a general rule, the running of
lotteries is forbidden. Excluding certain exceptions stipulated by
law, running a lottery is allowed only with a licence granted by
the licensing authority.
Various ministries and other bodies supervise Finnish gaming
operators' activities and finances, the use of their profits, the
legality of their operations and seek to prevent any harm arising
from these. Chapter 8 of the Lotteries Act contains stipulations on
supervising the running of lotteries. According to said Act, the
Ministry of the Interior is responsible for the general national
legal supervision of the running of lotteries as well as for the
compilation of statistics on lottery activities.
Stipulations regulating national gaming activities normally
cover all gaming activities within the country's territory. In
Finland, the situation is slightly different due to the autonomy of
the Province of Åland. Different regulations apply to gaming
activities depending on whether the activities are provided on the
Finnish mainland or in the island Province.
The jurisdiction of the European Community and the present
European Union is based on the specific powers delegated by the
Member States to the institutions of the European Community to
enact laws and make decisions binding the Member States. These
powers have not been delegated generally but in part. At the level
of the European Union, there is presently no legislation regulating
gaming activities, neither have these activities been mentioned in
the constitutive treaties or the subsequent amendments thereof.
Despite this lack of specific jurisdiction, the Court of Justice
of the European Communities has ruled that the European Community,
now the European Union, can influence areas outside its specific
jurisdiction on the basis of general EU legislation which applies
to all sectors of society.
Developments that have taken place in the field of technology
and communications in the last few decades have also had a major
impact on the world of gaming. Gaming activities are no longer
bound to time or place and the boundaries between national and
private gaming operators have been dismantled. These changes
require that the related national legislation be kept up to date.
Furthermore, the relevant authorities should have sufficient
resources and tools for intervening with respect to illegal gaming
activities.
Keywords: lottery, gaming activities, gaming operator,
disadvantages of gaming, supervision,
monopoly |