Veikkaus hit with €2.9 million fine for advertising to minors

Neha Soni November 20, 2024

SiGMA news

Finland’s state-owned gaming operator Veikkaus has been hit with a €2.9 million fine and a three-month marketing ban by the police board. This comes as the operator’s adverts appeared in TV programmes watched by minors.

The marketing ban begins 30 days after the notification was received by the operator, i.e., 12 November. The fine and the ban come in response to a “wrongly placed” ad broadcast by Veikkaus in July during the commercial break of a TV program that was potentially viewed by children.

Finland’s police board is tasked with overseeing the country’s monopoly gambling operator, Veikkaus’ marketing and ensuring that it complies with the Lotteries Act and the Consumer Protection Act.

The monopoly operator is subject to various restrictions enforced by the police board since only Veikkaus is allowed to legally market its service to Finns. These include making sure the marketing efforts do not target minors, include age limits, not glamourise gambling and not promote businesses.

Veikkaus’ response

Veikkaus said in a statement that the July fault was due to a human error. The company’s sales and marketing director Anu Kytö said, “We are very sorry that, despite our joint development measures, our advertising has been seen in the advertising breaks of programmes aimed at minors due to human error.” The company said it will work with the police board to ensure compliance with all requirements.

However, Veikkaus flagged a request the police board made in May. The request enquired about Veikkaus’ advertising in relation to television programmes aimed at adults but also watched by minors. It appeared to relate to an MTV programme and Veikkaus said it believes the board is prohibiting marketing around TV programmes falling under the third category.

“It seems that the police board may interpret the matter in a new and broader way. We have been in contact with the police board as soon as the decision was made and we are going through this issue with them,” Kytö said.

Finland’s gambling market is set to be liberalised in January 2026, which would lead to new marketing measures coming into place. The European Commission is currently reviewing the country’s new gambling legislation. It will be put to Finland’s parliament in spring 2025.