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May 12 - Finnish authorities have stated that it is not a done deal that its
state-owned company, Veikkaus, will be allowed to run an online bingo
service, despite that fact that a software deal was signed with Boss Media.
The government has said that it was still deliberating at various levels
whether permission should be granted and had actually extended the deadline
given to Finnish ministers to make their decision. All responses would be
considered about the online bingo option before recommendations were made,
according to authorities.
Gambling industry experts say that they do not expect the Finnish government
to object to Veikkaus operating an online bingo site, given the very nature of
this form of entertainment. However, European governments have, in the past,
vetoed their own state-run gambling company expansions. The Dutch government
recently voted narrowly against the development of a Cryptologic-powered poker
and casino platform, despite that fact that the idea passed the country's lower
house vote.
Bingo is not the only industry hoping to gain a legal foothold in Finland, as
rumors that the country is weighing the option of opening a state-run poker site
are also doing the rounds. However, the Finnish Minister of Culture said that,
at present, bingo is the only form of gambling entertainment under consideration
by the government.
Veikkaus is already in partnership with Boss Media, which supplies the
company with other online gaming games. Boss Media has extensive experience with
dealing with state-owned companies, as it provides Sweden's Svenska Spel and
Austria's Win2Day with their poker platforms.
Finland is expected to make significant changes to its gambling laws in the
coming year.
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