Gambling in Finland | Complete Casino Guide
Some countries may boast thousands of Casinos and extraordinary activities that can make a man blush. The gambling sector in Finland is also quite extensive, but not in the conventional way.
The country itself is lovely, and most of its land-casinos serve to both foreign and local players. Other similar activities include dog races, sports betting, and playing the lotto. Lottery games make up by far the most popular activity, numbers nearing 40,000 of the total 70,000 Finns that are registered on online games sites.
There are 3 government local gambling monopolies that are responsible for the various facets of the gambling industry. These are RAY (Slots), Fintoto (Horse Racing), and Veikkaus (lotteries and gambling), and they have the full and only control over all related gambling activities in the state.
Although casinos and gambling houses are spread amongst 50 individual cities, the two most prominent and popular known Casinos are, the first which is the oldest establishment in Åland, The Paf Casino (or Casino Mariehamn) at the Arkipelag Hotel and the second one which is the largest of the two which is The Grand Casino Helsinki (or Casino Helsinki), both are located in the capital.
Who Can Play?
For any local to be able to partake in any gambling activities in Finland, they must be at least 18 years old, be registered and able to show proof of personal information, that includes having a Finnish security number, a bank account, as well as a permanent address.
The dress code is usually smart casual for any venue and the games accept cash currency in EUR and usually there is minimitalletus 5e (in online casinos). Profits often go to different charities or welfares and have also been spread across different regions in the form of grants or loans.
Facts About Gambling at The Paf Casino (Casino Mariehamn)
This eCOGRA accredited Casino is run by the Finnish gambling company named Ålands Penningautomatförening which operates a small fraction of the offline gambling industry, but a majority part in the online ones. The activities that they offer are mainly concerned with: bingo, slot machines, lottery games, poker, skill games, tables games, recreational activities to name a few, both offline and online.
Most Finnish Casinos are individually placed casino gambling houses but some of them are part of a bigger hotel such as Paf Casino which is inside the Arkipelag itself and hosts a choice of games such as Punto Banco, American Roulette, Slot Machines, Blackjack, Oasis Stud poker and Live table games. In total, it offers three table games and 65 gaming machines.
For poker players, this is the place to be – the facility offers poker tournaments and has a huge variety of games including Omaha, Pot Luck Omaha, Oasis Stud Poker, Crazy pineapple, No-Limit Texas, Dynamic Poker, Russian Poker to name a few.
The minimum age is 18 years, although ID is required and entrance is free. The casino’s business hours are from 10:00 pm to 3:00 am, daily, and both the tables and slot machines operate from Monday to Saturday all year round.
Facts About Gambling at The Grand Casino Helsinki (Casino Helsinki)
The very first independent casino in Finland, established in 1991, was the Grand Helsinki, after which there have been 6 other gambling facilities opened in the region, but Casino Helsinki is the largest one. It is responsible for drawing in the majority of the players in Finland.
It boasts 300 slot machines, almost 32 live table games that offer the classic Blackjack and Roulette and also poker cash tables and sports betting bar.
Included in the choices of games to play are video machines and 300 slot machines, blackjack, American roulette, Oasis Stud Poker, Wheel of fortune, Sic Bo to name a few. They even offer the “midnight Sun” tournament where players can win up to EUR 300,000, and now have an online version of it too.
Slot machines are typically open from 12:00 until 04:00 and the live table games from 13:30 until 04:00.
Online Casinos
Finland also offers several online casinos although international operators have yet to be allowed in and the government got rid of all international adverts that included any online gambling website information or offers shown to its citizens.
Although one thing to point out is the finish administration does not enforce any barriers on transactions to and from these online casinos, and similar rules apply to land-casinos, where only the local companies may legally operate the gambling services within Finland. Although the reverse is not true, locals can access international online casinos.