Finlands government-owned operator Veikkaus launched its second gambling house in Tampere on December 15th. This comes as the company faces inquiries about its future as Finlands gambling monopoly.
Veikkaus opened its second gambling house in Tampere, named Tampere Casino, which provides traditional table games and slot machines. It also includes an electronic table game zone with live and automated roulette.
Under Finlands safer gambling rules, Tampere Casino must follow the same standards as Finlands first gambling house, Helsinki Casino.
Veikkaus stated: “Helsinki Casino and Tampere Casino are trailblazers in the European casino world in establishing responsible gambling environments.”
In September, Veikkaus added loss limit settings to its Helsinki Casino slot machines after the agency was required to introduce the measure for online players for the first time in April 2020 following a directive from Finlands Ministry of the Interior.
The opening of Tampere Casino follows a harsh critique of Veikkaus’s position as a monopoly operator by a legislative committee.
Earlier this month, Finlands Administrative Committee suggested an investigation into Veikkaus’s status as the nation’s monopoly.
The Administrative Committee believes that Veikkaus’s monopoly “has effectively gone insolvent” and that the matter should be examined “without delay.”
A proposition within the Finnish Lottery Legislation, presented last autumn, seeks to prohibit payments from organizations that are not Veikkaus.
The Finnish Constitutional Committee has declared this to be in violation of the Constitution. They assert that it would infringe upon Articles 15 and 18 of the Constitution.
Article 15 pertains to the safeguarding of property, while Article 18 concerns the liberty to engage in commerce.
In the tenth month of the year, Veikkaus announced their intention to release between 125 and 190 workers. However, they also indicated that a significant portion of these individuals could secure positions at the Tampere gaming establishment.