The Republic of Finland, formerly part of the Kingdom of Sweden and later the Russian Empire, has had a state-controlled gambling monopoly since the Second World War. Despite recent pressure from the European Union and even the start of the internet and online gambling, Finland’s gambling structure has changed little since then – and apparently has no intention of doing so any time soon.
The legal landscape
The first slot machines were introduced to Finland from Germany in the 1920s. Private companies took the opportunity they presented and provoked a government intervention that in 1933 only granted charities to operate these machines. However, disputes continued between the various operations, and in 1938 RAY was short for Raha-automaattiyhdisty, Finland’s Slot Machine Association configuration https://finlandiacasino.fi/. His decree gave him the authority not only to monitor gaming machines, but also to manufacture the machines themselves and to provide funds for any health or addiction problems caused by the hobby.
Ray is one of three organizations that form the Finnish government’s monopoly on gambling. The second is Veikkaus Oy, the Finnish national lottery, whose winnings in lottery and other betting activities are spread across various projects that contribute to Finnish art and culture, sports or scientific ventures. The third, Fintoto Oy, is a horse racing-specific parimutuel bet that, like Veikkaus Oy, reinvests the money it earns into Suomen Hippos, a government organization that cares for horses.
There is a separate system for the Finnish province of Aland, a network of around 6,500 islands in the Baltic Sea that falls under Finnish rule. Gambling activities are managed by PAF (Play at Friends), which was founded in 1966 to bring the various Aland organizations under one roof.