Finnish National Betting Agency Veikkaus Announces Massive Lay-Offs

The Finnish national betting agency, Veikkaus Oy, removed a total of 129 tasks after co-determination discussions were attracted to a conclusion at the start of the week.

Veikkaus is now fully-owned from the country’s Authorities , which has enabled to impose a legal monopoly on the Finnish lotteries and sports betting operations. According to data published by the firm itself, Veikkaus has about two million regular customers, while roughly 400,000 individuals use its services every week.

The organization, which is currently operated from the Ministry of Education of Finland, was established in 1940 as a result of the combined efforts of the Finnish Workers’ Sports Federation along with the Football Association of Finland. After the decision to begin supplying the national lottery, Veikkaus gained increasing popularity among local citizens, with roughly 70% of the Finnish people taking part in these services.

For the time being, it is the Ministry of Education that amuses the profits generated from the state-owned firm and distributes them to various science and art projects, as well as to amateur sports. Gambling law, however, is regulated by Finland’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Co-determination talks began at the start of April between agents of the workers and the company administration. At the start of the talks the firm said that around 140 workers were at risk of losing their jobs.

Finns Are the Largest Gamblers in Europe, Survey Says

Despite the fact that Veikkaus holds the monopoly over sports betting and lotteries in the country and the gambling sector is regulated by local authorities, Finland continues to be one of the biggest spenders in terms of gambling. According to a recent poll, local citizens rank fourth one of the biggest gamblers on a global scale, with approximately €two billion spent on an yearly basis on various games of chance.

A 2015 report issued from the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finnish individuals were the ones who wagered the most in Europe, with roughly 80% of the country’s population gambling every year.

As mentioned previously, the neighborhood gambling sector is directly controlled by the Government through a monopoly controlled by the national betting agency Veikkaus. Apart from the profit brought from the organization to government ministries, Vekkaus additionally brings over €200 million in taxes into the Finnish Government funding.

Before in May, Veikkaus Oy has terminated a high number of consumers ’ balances due to clarification of specific bank account coverages . The exact number of accounts closed hasn’t been revealed by the agency, but based on media reports they amounted to approximately 30,000.

This spring, Veikkaus has contacted its customers in order to notify them for the bank accounts policies, with the players being reached by e-mail, letters and text messages. All players were asked to create sure that the bank account utilized was in accord with the terms of use of the national bureau.

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