The definition of marketing given in the Lotteries Act comprises three main elements:
- advertising
- indirect advertising
- other sales promotion activities.
The definition broadly covers all marketing activities that aim to promote demand for the gambling services or otherwise aim to increase the visibility of the provider of the gambling service and affect the image of the provider.
The National Police Board also oversees the marketing
The National Police Board also oversees that the marketing of gambling services complies with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act.
The gambling company must submit annual reports on the marketing of gambling services to the Ministry of the Interior and the National Police Board.
Veikkaus Oy, which has the exclusive right to provide gambling services in Finland, is allowed to market its gambling services and the company as long as the marketing:
- does not promote gambling that causes social and health-related problems
- steers the demand for gambling towards legal forms of gambling
- does not target minors
- does not present a positive picture of heavy gambling or a negative picture of not gambling at all or moderate gambling.
of not gambling at all or moderate gambling.
All gambling services have rules of play issued by a Ministry of the Interior decree. When the rules of play are established, if a game is considered to carry a particular risk of gambling harm, the game must not be marketed in any place other than the designated game arcades, casinos and race courses.
Players may nevertheless be given information on these kinds of games, points of sale, terms and conditions, stakes, the odds of winning and the payouts available. This is known as betting object, betting event or game information. There is a separate page on betting object information. You can find the link to the page at the bottom of this page.
The National Police Board has the authority to prohibit the running and marketing of gambling activities. If the gambling company engages in marketing practices that are in violation of the Lotteries Act, the National Police Board can prohibit the company from continuing the practice. The prohibition can be imposed on the gambling operator or the business or organisation which sells or markets gambling services. The National Police Board can impose a notice of a conditional fine to reinforce a marketing prohibition.
