Police in Finland have contacted a Malta-based gambling operator over allegations that it “aggressively” marketed its services to Finnish consumers.
Finnish Police Probe Gambling Operator Over Marketing
According to an investigation by the National Police Board, the operator, the identity of which was not disclosed, carried out multi-channel, Finnish-language marketing in the country.
Finnish Police Probe Gambling Operator Over Marketing
Police noted a key part of the marketing effort was sending text messages to consumers in mainland Finland, including to a number of minors that were not of legal age to gamble.
Finnish Police Probe Gambling Operator Over Marketing
Marketing also appeared on several websites targeted at mainland Finland, such as Finnish-language affiliate websites, while a number of social media influencers, who are only well known to people in the country, appeared in the marketing.
Finnish Police Probe Gambling Operator Over Marketing
Any advertising of gambling is illegal in Finland, with the exception of current monopoly Veikkaus. All other forms of gambling, other than those services offered by Veikkaus, are also illegal in the country.
Finnish Police Probe Gambling Operator Over Marketing
The Police Board has contacted the operator over the matter. Dependent on its response, the police may seek to impose a fine in response to the illegal marketing.
Finnish Police Probe Gambling Operator Over Marketing
Worrying activity
“According to the Police Board’s information, the text messages were not related to existing customer relationships but, on the contrary, they aggressively aim to expand the customer base of gambling sites,” National Police Board lottery administration chief inspector Johanna Syväterä said.
Finnish Police Probe Gambling Operator Over Marketing
“The receiving of text messages has therefore not been based on one’s own choice and the target group seems to have been randomly selected.
“We find the marketing of gambling aimed at minors on purpose or through carelessness to be particularly worrying. Marketed online casinos offer especially fast-paced automatic games, which are estimated to cause…
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