Finnish Gambling and the Common Good in Addiction Policies

When I started working on my dissertation in 2016, Finnish gambling policy centered around upholding a public state monopoly, which the government at that time reinforced by merging the previous three monopoly operators into one state-owned company, Veikkaus. Outside of gambling policy researchers, my dissertation topic – the justifications and governance of the state grant system based on gambling profits and the meanings of the common good associated with it – often left my colleagues and acquaintances confused. Many admitted they knew little about the system itself, recalling only the advertising slogans of the former gambling companies.

The public interest grew

As I progressed with my dissertation, public interest in the Finnish gambling system and criticism of its justifications seemed to grow each year. This peaked in 2019 when Veikkaus’s advertising campaign was deemed irresponsible by the media. In response, politicians, state administrators, and even beneficiary organizations began distancing themselves from the traditional gambling system. In the early 2020s, new harm prevention methods, such as mandatory identification for gamblers were introduced, reducing gambling revenues and the amount of grants derived from them. Then, in 2022, something previously unimaginable happened: the government detached state grants for the third sector from gambling revenues, a change that took effect in 2024. That same year, the newly elected government began advocating for dismantling the state gambling monopoly for online gambling.

By the time my dissertation was published in 2024, I could barely finish a sentence about its topic before my conversation partner began to share their observations, knowledge, or experiences about the contradictions of the Finnish gambling system.

Research Setting and Results

The aim of my dissertation was to explore the constructions of the public good in the context of Finnish gambling-profit-based state grants, using a sociological perspective. The primary data consisted of 20 semi-structured interviews (conducted between 2015 and 2017) with representatives from the third sector organizations receiving these grants, as well as six interviews with ministry officials governing the grants. Additionally, the study incorporated data from broader research projects, including 46 articles from Helsingin Sanomat (2010–2016), 19 focus group interviews with 88 Finnish citizens (2017–2018), and 13 interviews with French beneficiaries of gambling. The study addressed three main aspects:

1. Moral Dilemmas: The study explored how beneficiaries of gambling profits handle the moral contradictions of using funds from the addiction industry to promote the public good. By comparing Finnish and French contexts, it became clear that despite the moral dilemma, the Finnish gambling system was largely seen as justified. However, there were some critical comments about the need for beneficiaries and the system itself to take responsibility for gambling-related issues. This type of discourse was absent in the French interviews, suggesting that the moral dilemma was becoming more prominent in Finland.
2. Conceptual Understandings: The dissertation explored how terms such as public good, civil society, state, and welfare are understood in everyday discussions about the Finnish gambling-profit-based grant system. Perspectives from the Finnish third sector, citizens, and media were considered. The research found that the concept of the common good was not only linked to nationalist ideas but also to traditional roles of the welfare state and civil society. The gambling grant system was not justified as a replacement for tax-funded public services but was seen as adding value to the welfare state through third-sector funding.
3. Third sector governance: The study analyzed the roles assigned to the third and public sectors within the governance of the grant system, comparing two of its funding models: one associated with the former Slot Machine Association and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the other to the Ministry of Education and Culture. The study concluded that that the third sector was ideally seen as based on voluntary action and light organization, with state grants theoretically funding such activities. However, in practice, the state grant system required organizations to navigate public bureaucracy, long-term organization, and professional paid staff’s contributions for grant applications and reporting. These reporting practices were seen as bringing accountability to the public. However, the dual expectation of the third sector being both voluntary and professional is somewhat paradoxical.

Final Thoughts

Despite the major changes in the policy system, the problems and addictions caused by gambling have remained as part of Finnish society. Moral dilemmas, the meanings of the common good, and questions of accountability continue to be central to addiction policy across societies. These issues affect not only state-owned companies and non-profit organizations but also private, commercial companies. A notable example was the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family its’ private owners, who were held accountable for their role in the U.S. opioid crisis, despite funding science and art for decades. As some major art institutions started to refuse funding based on Purdue Pharma’s profits, the media addressed that the tobacco industry has been a notable financier of art.

Today, the websites of international private companies often display their responsibility and sustainability initiatives. For instance, the Danish brewer Carlsberg, which supports science, art, and civil society, emphasizes its sustainability goals to promote responsible alcohol consumption and environmental protection. Future addiction research should continue to explore how the ideals of the common good are integrated into the responsibility policies of commercial companies and their public regulation. The topic is very timely also in the increasingly open Nordic gambling markets.

The article is written by

Veera Kankainen Dr.Soc.Sci, post-doctoral researcher, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki

on the request of PopNAD