Gambling in Finland Essay Example for Free

Gambling in Finland Essay Gambling, betting, lottery, poker in Finland; there is plenty of choice. In Finland, slot machines are practically everywhere. Some are prohibited for persons under 18 years old, others for children under 15 years. The Finns like a lot the lot (even if the jackpot is much lower in compared to other European countries) and they are a people who like to play poker, especially online. Moreover, in almost all places, not just in casinos, you can play roulette or blackjack. In Finland, there are two casinos (one in Helsinki and one in the Aland Islands), almost 20 000 slot machines and fifty plants such as racetracks where you can do live betting. And do not forget the nearly 300 locals or restaurants with tables where the Finns test themselves maybe watching a game of football or hockey or taking a break from the dance floor. With reference to what I have explained I think that given the numbers reported about the popularity of gambling in Finland it is obvious that this affects actively the life of Finns every day, and in my opinion, it influences negatively, every bets will be destined to lose, this creates a chain reaction, because every personal relationship, family and work will be influenced by mood of the gambler. According to the latest prevalence study (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health/Taloustutkimus 2007) over the last 12-month period, 3.1% of the population (130,000 persons) were classifiable as having gambling problems. Over the same period, 1% of the population (42,000 persons) were classifiable as probable gambling addicts (with a SOGS score of at least 5 points). It follows that I have only analyzed the situation from the point of view of the gambler, but to understand why gambling is so much sponsored in Finland we should consider the benefits (only in economic terms) of the revenues from the game. The state has a monopoly on betting and the whole system is managed by four companies: RAY, Veikkaus Oy, Oy Fintoto and PAF. The main peculiarity of gambling in Finland Is that the revenue from betting and gambling are invested in non-profit organizations related to the world of sport, education and culture. I think this is the only positive aspect regarding the gambling! Because this type of policy is beneficial, and socially useful and consequently that can be shared by people. To put the topic more simply I compared Finnish Gambling situation with the Italian one. Italy has come a long way from totally prohibiting all gambling activities, to legalizing some of them under certain conditions. The main reason why the Italian government adhered to strict rules was the desire to avoid the possible negative effects associated with the industry. The following amendments liberalized the market in 2006: * Legalisation of real-money skill games and betting exchange * Opening of the Italian gambling market to operators from EU and EFTA countries (on condition they meet certain requirements) * Opening of the new license tender that was supposed to rearrange the network of offline betting establishments and also providing possibility for online gaming operators to offer their services on a legal basis. The Italian government has put in place in recent years maneuvers that liberalizing more gambling, even to decrease the volume of illegal betting. On the contrary gamblers have moved from illegal gambling to a legal one, to the detriment of the game controlled by organized crime, only for a short initial period. According to the Report of the Parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission published in 2011 , when the illegal gambling became legal criminal organizations have transfer their activities. Besides gambling is becoming one of the major sectors of interest for large criminal organizations: the expansion of legal gambling has not reduced, but powered illegal gambling especially in the field of money laundering, making it much easier to pass large flows of money through the internet. So even if the Italian gambling situation is a sensitive issue for the government, unfortunately so far the state has not found the appropriate measures to reduce the problems resulting from it (organized crime, gambling addiction of the people, people?s debts for bets). In brief, the gambling definitely brings money in the trade balance of the state, but we must not forget that there are factors worthy of attention more than economic benefits! As I said, gambling ruins peoples status, it follows that the Government should be much more cautious in taking such a free gambling decision, in addition it is a very delicate subject and wrong choices can affect the lives of many people!