Veikkaus has named the six individuals who are to compromise the Finnish gambling monopoly’s Ethics Advisory Board, following the firm’s decision to slash the number of slot machines it operates around the country by 8,000.
In addition to the chairperson, the advisory committee is to consist of five members that will serve for a term of two years. The chairperson will report to the board by the end of March on the activities of the council during the previous calendar year.
The purpose of the board is to provide an outside view of the company’s board and operative management on gambling activities, with a particular falling on the ethics of games and the marketing, harm and the social impact of gaming.
The board may also make concrete proposals for solutions, make statements, and provide ethical arguments on practical issues related to gambling. It does not, however, resolve individual issues or complaints from outside parties.
Saija Kivinen will serve as chair of the board. Kivenen has served as legal counsel for telecommunications company Telia Finland, having previously been the company’s deputy legal counsel.
Habits researcher for the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare Susanna Raisamo, Executive Director of Sosped Lassi Rajamäki, Game Researcher at University of Tampere Mikko Meriläinen, Professor of Sociology at the University of Jyväskylä Terhi-Anna Wilska, and Jani Halme, creative director at marketing and communications company Toinen PHD, will join the advisory board.
“The establishment of an ethics board complements the company’s new, broad-based corporate responsibility measures. We are investing in developing a safer and more responsible gaming environment, and the ethics council outside the company’s operations is an important part of that,” noted Pekka Ilmivalta, executive vice president of legal and responsibility at Veikkaus.
The company, which currently houses approximately 18,500 slot machines in kiosks, shops, restaurants and service stations in Finland, is to begin its reduction strategy next year, with an aim to reach an installed base of 15,000 by the end of 2020. The total number of slot machines aims to be reduced by 8,000 by 2025.
