Veikkaus to have new method for offering online lottery tickets

On Thursday 7 September, the Government issued a Decree Amending the Decree on the Running of Veikkaus Oy's Gambling Games. The current decree has been updated to correspond to the amendments made to the Lotteries Act. The amendment will enable Veikkaus to create a new way to run lotteries online.

Veikkaus will be able make use of the online lottery tickets provided by the Lotteries Entertainment Innovation Alliance AS (LEIA) joint venture. Veikkaus set up a joint venture company with several other national gambling operators in 2018. In addition to Veikkaus, the company is owned by gambling operators from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and France. The company offers and develops online gambling games for its owners.

Veikkaus has not previously been able to make use of the company’s games because the technical platform used in the draw is located in France. However, the Lotteries Act, which was amended in 2022, makes it possible to locate the game platforms used by Veikkaus outside Finland in the EU and EEA member states. 

The decree also includes technical updates and amendments which, following the amendments to the Lotteries Act, were found to be necessary for applying the decree in practice with regard to running and supervising gambling.

During the amendments drafting, changing the maximum number of slot machines was also considered. However, no change was made at this time. In practice, the change would not have affected the current situation where Veikkaus has voluntarily reduced the number of slot machines placed in shops, kiosks and public transport hubs. According to the Government Programme, the transfer of game machines to separate controlled premises will be investigated.

The amended decree will enter into force on 14 September 2023.

Inquiries:

Jukka Tukia, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of the Interior, tel. +358 295 488 573, [email protected]