Sparkling or dry cash for the winner. Sounds nice. But unfortunately illegal.
Different types of betting are usually organized in connection with the World Cup. Even at workplaces. PDO
The soccer World Cup started last week in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In Finland, the matches come from Yle and MTV channels.
It is a common practice in football and, for example, hockey World Cups, that large group bets are organized at different workplaces. They predict the final results of the matches and the champion of the games.
The prize is usually sparkling wine or even money, if every World Cup bettor is asked to pay a participation fee.
However, there is one problem with this financial arrangement: it is illegal.
– According to the Lotteries Act, only the exclusive operator, i.e. Veikkaus Oy, has the right to implement gambling in Finland. The three elements of implementing a gambling game are met if the betting involves a participation fee, a cash prize and an element of chance, the Inspector General of the Police Board Johanna Kultalahti fuck off.
Gambling offence
Kultalahti refers to section 62, subsection 2, point 1 of the Lotteries Act, according to which the sale and transmission of lotteries (in this case, the sale of the right to participate) without the permit required by the Lotteries Act is prohibited.
– According to the Criminal Code, the unauthorized implementation of gambling is a gambling crime, which can result in fines or a maximum of two years in prison. Kultalahti goes through, for example, the person who organized or carried out gambling at the workplace may be guilty of running gambling in violation of the Lotteries Act or a gambling crime.
Let’s take an imaginary example: an e-mail message is sent within a company employing 50 people, inviting them to participate in a betting game that costs five euros. The winner of that bet receives the entire pot to be collected.
University of Helsinki researcher Janne Nikkinen according to that kind of betting would probably violate the Lottery Act.
– If someone promises a cash prize in return for a participation fee, this is the case in mainland Finland [1.7.2027 asti] exclusive right only with Veikkaus. Courts naturally evaluate what constitutes criminal activity, Nikkine pui.
A picture of the World Cup match between Spain and Cape Verde, where we saw a big surprise when the pre-favorite of the match ended in a 0-0 draw. RONALD WITTEK
According to Nikkinen, the reprehensibility of an act increases the larger the activity is concerned.
– A company employing 50 people is already medium-sized. By sending an e-mail, a person makes it known to the general public that he or she is organizing, i.e. implementing, the lottery, even if he does not keep anything himself.
– Gambling can also be committed unknowingly and/or unintentionally. The crime of gambling is a crime against public order. The workplace is not a private area in the same sense as your own home. There is an undetermined group of people, not all of whom are your own friends. In this case, it is not a private game, says Nikkinen.
Management should intervene
According to Nikkinen, management should intervene if messages are sent from the employer’s e-mail address that encourage a large number of people to participate in monetary bets.
In addition to legislation, it is also about occupational safety and health, as there may be people suffering from gambling problems among the employees.
– However, bilateral bets made between friends do not break the law, Nikkinen points out.
Betting with friends cannot be compared to cases where a bet is made among, for example, 50 people. Kaverivedo does not use an external gambling executor.
In a bet between friends, the money can be placed on the table, for example, while in a workplace of 50 people this is no longer possible. In a larger company, someone has to collect the money and he has to present a distribution basis based on a lottery, i.e. chance, and he also has to keep the money under his control. These points violate the Lottery Act.
According to Nikkinen, the line between legal and illegal small-scale gambling has been somewhat unclear within the framework of the current lottery act. The matter will be clarified in the new Gambling Act, which will enter into force on July 1, 2027.
– It is mentioned that the law is not suitable for “private gambling in social situations, where the reward given for the gambling game and the possible loss are reasonable and they are not disproportionate to the payment capacity of the participant in the gambling game”, Nikkinen states.
– In practice, the idea within the scope of the current lottery law has been that it is not illegal for a group of friends to play randomly after a sauna evening, sums up Nikkinen.
How can potential failure cases be monitored? In its simplicity, through notifications.
– If such an action [koordinoitu rahapanoksellinen vedonlyönti] comes to the attention of the authorities through a citizen’s report, for example, an investigation request can be made to the police if it is suspected that the characteristics of a gambling crime are met in the case, states Chief Inspector Kultalahti of the Police Board.