Who gambles in Finland?

In Finland a wide population survey concerning Finns gambling is conducted every four years. The information on this page is based on the survey published in 2012 (data collected in 2011). 4484 Finns within the age group of 15-74 answered to the population survey published in 2012 (40 % of the eligible).

Who gambles?

In Finland a wide population survey concerning Finns gambling is conducted every four years. The information on this page is based on the survey published in 2012 (data collected in 2011). 4484 Finns within the age group of 15-74 answered to the population survey published in 2012 (40 % of the eligible).

According to the survey:

  • 78 % have gambled within the last 12 months – 73% of the women and 83 % of the men. The amount corresponds to circa 3,1 million Finns.
  • 12 % of all those who answered gamble several times a week, 34 % around once a week.
  • A Finn spent on average 2,2 % of his/her net earnings on gambling; problem gamblers on average 11,5 %.
  • Gambling is most common within the age groups of 25-34 and 35-49. In both groups 96 % had gambled at some point.
  • Gambling is more common among those who are working compared to students, stay at home mums, pensioners and unemployed.
  • Gambling is more common among those who live alone compared to those with a family.
  • One fifth has gambled online: online gambling is most common within the group of 25-34 males.
  • The most popular games are Lotto/Vikinglotto/Jokeri (74 % has played), the lottery tickets by Veikkaus (37 %), slot machines (36 %).

Men start to gamble at a younger age then women. They also prefer games that aren´t based purely on luck (sport betting, poker). Women play more games of pure chance like slot machines and roulette.

Gambling is concentrated: a small group of all gamblers bring in the majority of the gaming profits. The top 5 % brings in approximately half of the gaming profits.

How do Finns feel about gambling?

  • Two thirds of Finns consider problem gambling to be a serious problem 
  • 91 % of Finns thinks that gambling shouldn´t be encouraged to
  • 71 % of Finns do, at least to some extent, think that there are too many opportunities to gamble
  • 78 % do not want gambling to be banned all together
  • Three of four Finns find the monopoly system to be a good way to reduce harms caused by gambling
  • 85 % find the age limit of 18 years to be a good way to reduce gambling problems

Source material:

Yearbook of Finnish Gambling 2012 

The Lotteries Act

Suomalaisten rahapelaaminen 2011 (2012). (THL). Raportti 14/2012.