Annual reports

Annual report presents Peluuri’s activi­ties and its key figures in 2022. The main focus is on the statistics gained from the helpline and chat, which provide a great vantage point onto the changing harms of gambling. In addition, the report cov­ers statistics relating to the Time to Fold program and OmaPeluuri.

Peluurin vuosiraportti 2022 kansi.

Peluuri Annual Report 2022

Abstract

Peluuri prevents and reduces the social, financial and health-related prob­lems caused by gambling. The mission is carried out by offering support and coun­seling services and by producing infor­mation on problem gambling and how to prevent and treat it. The target groups are gamblers, their close ones and pro­fessionals who come across people with gambling problems in their work.

The work focuses on the harms of gambling, but Peluuri’s services are also available to digital gamers and their close ones. Restart-program expanding the ser­vices available for digital gamers. The fig­ures relating to the program aren’t pre­sented in this report. Peluuri’s services are nationwide and free of charge.

This report presents Peluuri’s activi­ties and its key figures in 2022. The main focus is on the statistics gained from the helpline and chat, which provide a great vantage point onto the changing harms of gambling. In addition, the report cov­ers statistics relating to the Time to Fold program and OmaPeluuri.

In 2022, the total number of actual con­tacts relating to gambling problems via the helpline and chat was 1,895.

This was 8% less than in 2021 (2,058). The total number of gamblers who went through the Time to Fold program was 279 (290 in 2021).

The gambler profile remained similar to previous years. Young adult males are the largest group of gamblers to contact Peluuri.

A significant proportion of gam­blers were male (64%) and 64% of those who contacted Peluuri were under the age of 34. Of the gamblers’ close ones, 74% were women and 71% were over 34 years old.

The role of online gambling as part of the gambling problem has continued to grow. Of those whose channel of gambling was identified, 90% used the internet as their primary gambling channel.

Through­out Peluuri’s history, the most significant form of gambling that results in gambling problems has been slot machines (online + offline) – all other forms of gambling remain far behind. In 2019, slot machines were the primary form of problem gam­bling in 83% of the cases (43% online and 40% offline).

In 2022, online slot machines were a problem for 59% and physical slot machines for 10% of gamblers.

The pro­portion of slot gaming in problem gam­bling has therefore remained substantial, but gambling has largely shifted online. In addition to slot machines, the forms of gambling that caused the most problems included online casino games (17%) and online betting (16%).

Problem gambling is often linked to financial problems. It manifests itself in the form of major debts, scarcity of every­day life and having to compromise on basic necessities. The use of quickie loans and borrowed money to finance gambling appears to have become an established and significant part of the problem;

74% of those who started the Time to Fold program had gambling-related debts, and 67% of them had more than €10,000 in debt.

The most common amount of debt that was disclosed in both the Time to Fold program and among those who contacted the helpline and chat was between €20,000 and €50,000. Debts often involved multiple different types of consumer credit. Online gamblers accrued the majority (93%) of significant debts.

Look also the abstracts of previous annual reports