Potential New Law Aims to Eliminate Online Poker in Finland

To put it mildly, a potential amendment to Finland’s gambling laws is absolutely ridiculous.  According to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health will propose an addition to the law which would allow online gamblers to get back their losses. 

Are we talking about some sort of tax deduction?  No.  If this amendment becomes an official part of the law, those who lose money playing poker, craps, blackjack, or other forms of gambling on the internet can actually get reimbursed for their losses.  But from whom?  Not from the government.  The money would either come from the person who actually won the money, the online gambling company itself, or the credit card company the player used to make the deposit. 

Of course, the consequences of such a law would almost certainly be that online gambling companies would stop accepting Finnish customers.  After all, why would an internet poker room want to risk the chance that players would come to them after losing, demanding their money back?  Plus, in today’s world of young, take-no-responsibility internet poker players, one could imagine how many people would simply play with sheer recklessness in hopes for a big score, but knowing they have insurance if they bust. 

The amendment is the brainchild of the University of Joensuu, which was commissioned by the Ministry to figure out how to protect children and gambling addicts.  Of course, the University report does not say how to actually go about enforcing this law.   

According to Helsingin Sanomat, Fins rank fourth in the world in internet gambling spending, having provided and estimated €150 million to online gaming firms per year.