The end of August was supposed to signify the beginning of an online casino for Finland. However the Finnish Slot Machine Association announced the opening of the monopolistic casino will now be in October.

The Finnish Slot Machine Association stated the delay was due to the fact that state officials started making last minute demands. Officials are now demanding the operator set new limits on much a player will be allowed to bet. Head of gaming operations Kari Hyttinen commented on the delay recently on YLE-X radio and she confirmed the new launch date.

Hyttinen commented: “The most difficult (new state demands) to implement are the various limitations placed on different categories of games.” officials want the operator to set a limit of Euro 500 a day per player for such games as blackjack and roulette.

When players play against others the limits will not apply unless the player decides to set a limit for themselves. The site will have the Playscan responsible gambling tool which was created by Svenska Spel in 2006. Svenska Spel and ICU Intelligence and the Swedish Gaming Institute worked together to create the tool.

The responsibility tool will monitor each player’s game play and will flag the player if there is a sudden increase in gambling activity. This way the operator can contact the player and stay in direct communication to make them aware of a possible gambling problem or help if needed.

Now all Finland players can do is wait and see if the online casino will launch in October as stated in the recent interview or if the casino will be delayed yet again for the same type of reasons or something new.








- 2010-09-07