2022/451/FIN
EC/EFTA
FI Finnland
  • H10 - Glücksspiele
2022-09-28
2022-07-28

Gambling services

Draft Government Proposal to Parliament for an Act amending the Lotteries Act

The proposal proposes to amend the Lotteries Act. The aim of the proposal is to eliminate the financial dependency, linked to the level of budget appropriations, on Veikkaus Oy’s profits of activities funded by

proceeds from gambling. The aim is also to strengthen the prevention and reduction of gambling-related harm in the exclusive rights system.

The aim is to introduce a new financing model prepared in parliamentary collaboration for the activities financed with Veikkaus Oy’s profits, where the activities would be financed from general budget resources within the expenditure framework from the beginning of 2024. The specified uses of Veikkaus Oy’s profits and the distribution of funding for various uses, as laid down in the Lotteries Act, would be discontinued as a result of
the new financing model. In future, Veikkaus Oy’s profits would be used as general budget resources to be used for expenditure included in the state budget. The provisions on the use of Veikkaus Oy’s profits, the inclusion of the profits in the budget and the accounting of profits would be amended to reflect the new financing model. It is proposed to add to the Act a provision on Veikkaus Oy’s obligation to render an account of its profits to the Government.

The provisions of the Lotteries Act on decisions on the distribution of Veikkaus Oy’s profits, on the Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA), on the Social Welfare and Health Organisations’ Advisory Board on funding matters and on the costs arising from funding activities as well as other provisions related to government assistance would be repealed. In future, provisions on funding procedures would be laid down in the Government Proposal prepared by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on the proposed new act on the financing of associations and foundations in the social welfare and health sector and in the Government Proposal prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the proposed new act on grants for the promotion of horse breeding and horse racing.

In addition, amendments are proposed to the provision concerning the objective of the Lotteries Act and the provisions on the disclosure of Veikkaus Oy’s data to the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The Act is intended to enter into force on 1 January 2024.