The Finnish government has now rejected an operating license application. Last week, gambling firm Ladbrokes was told no. They government said no to the license for the second time.
The government has made their decision based on the Lotteries Act. The act claims that only one entity at a time may hold a license. One of the three can obtain a license; lottery and betting, horse racing or slot machines/ casinos. It isn’t personal, because licenses are currently held by Veikkaus, Fintoto and Finland's Slot Machine Association. They may get their chance next year, because their license expires then.
Ladbrokes feels the clause is harmful. They claim that this the exclusive right abolishes EU competition rules. Of course this is an argument the Finnish government rejects. Ladbrokes is a well-known company that is part of the Hilton group. They don’t seem to want to give up, but for now there is nothing that can be done. The law is the law; they’ll just have to try again next year. |
