Veikkaus again forced to halt gaming activities in Satakunta

Veikkaus restarted its slot machines and reopened its gaming halls in Satakunta on 16 January, following the decision by authorities to downgrade the region to basic Covid-19 measures.

However, after the region was moved back to the ‘acceleration’ phase of Covid-19 phase of restrictions, Veikkaus must again halt activities.

Gaming halls will need to close by the end of today (29 January), while all slot machines must be switched off by tomorrow morning.

Veikkaus said that, as is the case with its activites across all Finnish regions, as soon as measures are relaxed, it will resume gaming services in Satakunta.

The operator’s machines across most of Finland were closed in November amid rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Amid the ongoing interruption of services, Veikkaus this month introduced its new mandatory identity verification controls for players.

Customers must now to log in to gamble on slots, with this to give them greater control to self-exclude from the terminals. The operator said it expected the new system to cut player losses by around €300m.