Body formed to draw gambling policy valid up to 2030

The Ministry of Family Affairs and Social Services has appointed a working group to prepare a gambling policy programme and to draw up guidelines for its implementation until 2030.

The aim is to reverse the upward trend in gambling-related harms and problems permanently, said the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in a press release on Tuesday.

To prevent and reduce gambling-related harms effectively, a number of similar and mutually supportive measures that are carried out simultaneously and both in the short and the long term are needed.

In preparing the programme, the working group will focus on preventive work, gambling services that aim to prevent harm, and guidance.

The aim of the group’s work is also to ensure that players and those close to them have access to the necessary services to receive help for gambling problems.

The programme will complement and support the measures of the National Mental Health Strategy and the Action Plan on Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs and Gambling as well as legislative drafting.

The term of the working group started on 15 March and will continue until 31 March 2022.

The working group is chaired by Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Director Jari Keinänen.

The responsibility for implementing the programme and preventing gambling-related harms rests with three ministries. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for legislation on lotteries, the Prime Minister's Office for the ownership steering of Veikkaus Oy and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health for the prevention of harms related to gambling.

The National Police Board monitors the provision of gambling services and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare implements and coordinates the measures to prevent gambling-related harms.

A working group consisting of public officials from these ministries and agencies is responsible for preparing the programme.