Finnish slot machine players may soon have to confirm their identities before being allowed to play. Finland’s state-owned gambling monopoly, Veikkaus, plans to implement slot machine ID technology in remote areas by 2023.
The goal is to reduce the number of problem gamblers within the country.
THL estimates that around 130,000 Finns struggle with gambling. And the National Institute for Health and Welfare THL believes that this will be a good way to reduce problem gambling.
How will the Plan be Carried Out?
According to yle.fi, Veikkaus wants to implement the slot machine ID technology on 18,000 games.
Most of these machines would be located in remote spots, like kiosks, petrol stations, and supermarkets. But some slots could feature user identification features even before 2023.
The plan will be expensive to carry out, though. Veikkaus believes that upgrading the slot machines will cost anywhere from 50 to 100 million euros.
Pekka Ilmivalta, who heads corporate social responsibility at Veikkaus, said that he doesn’t know exactly how long it’ll take for the ID upgrades to be completed. But the target date is still set for 2023.
Lottery may Not Feature ID Verification
Ilmivalta said that much still needs to be sorted out before the proposed changes take place. He also added that it’s unclear as to what types of gambling will be reformed.
“It still remains to be seen whether or not the requirement to authenticate will affect all games and all types of gambling,” said Ilmivalta.
He also explained that the lottery, such as Finland’s weekly lottery Lotto, may not require players to show any ID before purchasing tickets.
Ilmivalta said that the reason for possibly excluding the lottery is because this is seen a less threatening than other forms of gambling.
Slot machine IDs will no doubt be unpopular among Finnish gamblers. But the country must think that this is necessary in order to curb heavy slots play.