Veikkaus Oy, the Finnish betting agency owned by the government has revealed a brand new responsible gambling campaign designed to reduce the number and traffic on the slot machines in this Scandinavian country. The operator’s officials have announced that they would reduce their number of slot machines by twice as many as was previously planned. An official press release was sent out to the media regarding the new campaign.

In this official press release, it was revealed that the company has over 18,500 slot machines at sites across the Scandinavian nation. Initially, the plan was to reduce its slot machine estate for around forty percent or to 11,000 by the end of this year. This campaign was actually launched back in December of 2019 after the company came under fire for lack of responsible gaming protocols and for not doing enough to prevent gaming and gambling-related harms.

The company was also under fire for not doing enough to help vulnerable players from developing harmful gaming habits. To spread awareness about the importance of responsible gaming campaigns, the company’s new slot machine estate reduction plan includes further cuts which will leave Veikkaus Oy with some 10,500 slot machines in the following years.

Veikkaus Oy Since 2017

As previously mentioned, Veikkaus Oy is the government-operated and owned betting agency that currently holds a monopoly over gambling and gambling activities in Finland. The betting agency emerged on the stage in 2017 and it was established through a merger of three other betting agencies including Finland’s Slot Machine Association, Fintoto, and Veikkaus.

Back in January of last year, Veikkaus Oy announced its plan to reduce its current workforce by around four hundred positions. At the same time, the company also announced overhauls of its gaming locations as well as its responsible gaming campaign which will see the company reduce its massive slot machine estate. When it comes to the company’s profit distribution, it is determined by the law and according to the law, fifty-three percent of its profits go to the Ministry of Education and Culture, forty-three percent go to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and four percent go to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Post-Coronavirus Revival

According to the company’s officials, the company is stepping up its game when it comes to responsible gaming policies and protocols. Moreover, the company’s plan is to hit its long-term goals of its envisioned slot machine estate reduction by the end of this year by which the company hopes to have at least eight thousand fewer slot machines across the nation.

The betting agency also revealed that its envisioned reduction and accelerated exercise will be conducted in several stages throughout this year in hopes of delivering a secure and safe business experience for those who are at risk of developing any kind of gambling-related addiction. Jari Heino who works for Jari Heino used one of the company’s latest press releases to proclaim that his company’s network of Feel Vegas and Pelaamot gaming clubs in addition to Casino Helsinki will soon emerge from lockdowns triggered by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic from the 26^th of June. While the venues will open their doors to the public, they will start by welcoming only a limited number of visitors.

Back on the 7^th of May, the main casino gaming regulator for the state of Nevada, the Nevada Gaming Commission has approved a collection of rules which have been carefully crafted in order to prevent the spread of highly-contagious coronavirus once the state’s four hundred and forty-one land-based, commercial casinos open their doors to the public after many weeks of being closed.

According to one report released by Las Vegas Review Journal, the Nevada Gaming Commission’s directives were issued several days ago by the state’s Gaming Control Board and all of the commercial casinos in the states will have to comply to these rules to resume their operations. According to these directives, re-opening commercial casinos in the state will have to halve their gaming floors’ capacity to be in line with local fire and building codes.

Moreover, these venues will only permit three players to enjoy blackjack games at a single table simultaneously. According to the same newspaper, these directives by the Nevada Gaming Commission will apply to all of the state’s commercial casinos which are eagerly waiting to re-open once the ongoing coronavirus-related safety measures including lockdowns are eased. In addition to limiting the number of players allowed at a single blackjack table simultaneously, other provisions will also include limitations to roulette and poker tables which will host a maximum of four players at the same table at the same time.

Post-Coronavirus Measures for Nevada Casinos

Needless to say, with over four hundred commercial casinos active in the state of Nevada, the state’s gambling industry is one of the most profitable, most thriving in the USA. Las Vegas is also home to some of the most iconic venues of this kind which have been thriving for years and even decades including The Mirage venue, The Mandalay Bay facility, Bellagio, Treasure Island, Caesars Palace and many others which have been negatively affected by the ongoing coronavirus-related lockdowns and other safety measures in place.

Nonetheless, all of the state’s four hundred and forty-one commercial casinos are preparing to resume their operations with certain precautions in place to prevent the spread of the highly-contagious coronavirus strain. As released by the Nevada Gaming Commission, precautions that these casinos will have to comply with resemble those measures which were previously introduced into Macau-based casinos after the end of Macau’s fifteen-day shutdown.

According to these safety precautions, all casinos including commercial casinos and resort-style gambling and hotel venues including the iconic Caesars Palace venue in Las Vegas with almost four thousand rooms are obliged to impose a strict limit of six players at one craps table at the same time. This is not everything as Nevada-based casino venues will be also obliged to follow a series of other measures that revolve around regularly cleaning all high-traffic surfaces such as elevator buttons and handrails.

Other Public Health Measures

Nevada-based casinos have been shut down since the 18^th of March when the state’s Governor Mr. Sisolak instituted a lockdown not only for casinos but also bars, restaurants, and other places that attract masses in the state. The state’s Gaming Control Board used one of its official public hearings to share more details about the re-opening measures and rules. These will probably include a variety of other public health measures that would see returning casino employees tested for highly-contagious coronavirus before returning to work. One thing is for sure, all casino employees will be provided with protective masks and gloves.