A majority of Finns support the idea of abolishing Finland’s gambling monopoly and adopting a gambling licence system, as indicated by a recent survey conducted by the research firm Bilendi Oy.
31 per cent of Finns want to abolish the gambling monopoly of the state-controlled company Veikkaus Ltd and adopt a gambling licence system instead. 27 per cent of Finns are against the idea. The rest either had no opinion or declined to answer.
These are the main findings of the survey commissioned by Kasino Curt, a company engaged in the gambling business. The interviews were conducted within Bilendi Oy’s nationwide consumer panel during 20–24 March. The survey error margin is ±3.1 percentage points, and a total of 1,000 Finnish adults responded to the survey, and this sample was weighted based on age, gender and place of residence to represent the Finnish population on a national scale.
The results, published on Kasino Curt’s website (https://kasinocurt.com), clearly indicate how differently various age groups relate to Veikkaus Ltd’s gambling monopoly.
Of the 18-54-year-old respondents, approximately 32 percent are ready to abolish the monopoly; 23 per cent are against the idea.
27 percent of 55-75 year olds want to abolish the monopoly. 34 per cent were in favor of retaining it.
Additionally, men and women relate differently to the Veikkaus gambling monopoly. Of male respondents, 38 per cent want to abolish the gambling monopoly, while 31 per cent are in favor of retaining it. Of female respondents, 23 per cent of female respondents support abolition, while 22 per cent are against the idea. In every respondent category, the share of women who offered no opinion or declined to answer is higher than that of men.
“Based on the survey, Finns seem to be divided between those who are in favour of the monopoly position of Veikkaus and those who are against it. 17 per cent of the respondents had not gambled during the past 12 months, which may at least partially explain why their opinions do not fall at either end of the scale,” says Janne Juntunen, Senior Client Service Manager at Bilendi Oy.
In the survey, the respondents were presented with nine different statements, as follows:
- Finland is right in justifying its gambling monopoly to the European Union by the monopoly’s usefulness in the prevention of gambling-related problems.
- 28% agree fully or partially.
- 26% disagree fully or partially.
The rest expressed no opinion or declined to answer.
- Finland should abolish its gambling monopoly and adopt a gambling licence system instead.
- 31% agree fully or partially.
- 27% disagree fully or partially.
The rest expressed no opinion or declined to answer.
- Veikkaus Ltd’s efforts to decrease the incidence of problem gambling and mitigate its effects are adequate.
- 33% agree fully or partially.
- 34% disagree fully or partially.
The rest expressed no opinion or declined to answer.
