The Gambling Industry in Finland

People in Finland have always been interested in wagering since slot machines arrive in the 1920s.

15:12 21 September 2022

Finland has a long history in terms of gambling. People in Finland have always been interested in wagering since slot machines arrive in the 1920s. Later, the government of Finland saw the flaw of leniency when private establishments started buying and operating slot machines for their gain. For this reason, in 1933 they declared that only charitable institutions were authorized to run slot machines and granted a license.

 

In 1938, Raha-automaattiyhdisty (RAY) was introduced and its role is to control gambling activities in Finland. RAY oversee slot games in the entire land until its scope of responsibility grew larger as time went by.

 

Landbased and online casinos of Finland

Finland has two legal physical casinos and they are both one of the best places for entertainment in the country.

 

The first one is the Paf Casino which can be found at Mariehamn which is the capital city of Aland islands. It is much smaller and contains 12 slot machines and 3 live gaming tables.

 

The second casino is the Helsinki Casino which is located in Helsinki the capital city of Finland. It is a huge gambling place and the players can enjoy a variety of gambling amusements such as roulette, slot machines, punto banco, baccarat, blackjack, and poker.

 

The online casino is also thriving in Finland because they offer the finest and the best which can be found at https://www.kasinohai.com/nettikasinot. They introduce one-of-a-kind and highly scrutinize casino sites so players will not only enjoy the games but also they can place their bets with ease.

 

The Four Entities of the Land

 

RAY or Raha-automaattiyhdistys

As mentioned, RAY was given authority and is still considered the highest form of gambling authority. All licenses and decisions about gambling have to pass through RAY before they will be considered legit. This applies all over the land including the provinces.

RAY oversees both the land and the online casino, the slot machines, and the roulette.

 

Veikkaus Oy

This entity was founded in 1940 by the Football Association of Finland and the Finnish Worker’s Sports Federation whereby the entity's job back then was to oversee sports betting. Later in 1971, the Finnish National Lottery was launched thus it became under Veikkaus Oy jurisdictions. The majority of the income goes to the improvement of the public improvement, Arts, Science, sports, culture, and youth work.

 

Fintoto Oy

People who are fond of horse racing coordinate with this entity. Fintoto Oy offers Pari-mutuel betting which means instead of placing wagers with a bookmaker but places bets against other bettors instead on the same event. The said organization is also responsible for the horse race betting activities, schedule of the race, and meetings and also oversee the right of the racehorse. All proceed of the race will go to Suomen Hippos. Suomen Hippos is an organization that looks after the needs of the horses that join races. The rest of the funds will go straight for the projects in education and other improvements in public places. Fintoto Oy also accepts queries about information about the race and future events.

 

Alands Penningautomatförening or PAF

The PAF started in 1966 in the Aland Islands. It was founded to start a local charity of the Finnish Red Cross and other local foundations of the province. Its local office is in Mariehamn and looks after the local physical casino and is also responsible for the online casino games in the country and in cruise ships near the North and Baltic sea. PAF offers full service on gaming sites such as slots, and gaming tables, especially on cruise ships. Websites operated by PAF can be accessed in the entire land of the country.

 

Final thoughts:

The government of Finland can be a bit strict in terms of gambling management but for a good reason. The system in Finland has a reputation for being stern when it comes to scrutinizing the casino sites for the player’s protection and peace of mind in betting.