Abstract
Electronic gambling machines (EGMs) are among the most harmful forms of gambling. The structural characteristics of EGMs prolong and reinforce gambling similarly to other habit-forming technologies. In Finland, the wide availability of EGMs in non-casino locations is likely to further reinforce the habit-creating nature of gambling offer by incorporating EGMs into everyday practices. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of gambling in Finland. The most visible change was the closure of land-based EGMs in non-casino environments, arcades, and the casino in March 2020. Since then, the status of EGMs has varied depending on the pandemic situation. The current qualitative study focuses on how Finnish past-year gamblers experience prolonged EGM closures and occasional re-openings 1 year into the pandemic. The data consist of responses to an online questionnaire eliciting experiences (N = 187) as well as interviews (N = 27, conducted in groups or alone). To aid our analysis, we employ the sociological pragmatist theory of the concept of “habit.” The analysis focuses on gambler experiences on EGM shutdowns and re-openings, and views on whether closures have contributed to abstaining from gambling or to shifting to other gambling products. Policy implications of the results are discussed.
Highlights
The gambling landscape changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland, as elsewhere
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Electronic gambling machines (EGMs) constituted a significant share of the gross gambling revenue of Veikkaus: Over half of the gross gambling revenue of the monopoly holder were derived from so-called excitement games consisting mainly of EGMs (Marionneau and Lähteenmaa, 2020)
This paper has focused on the experiences of EGM gambling 1 year into the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
The gambling landscape changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland, as elsewhere. The Finnish gambling field is strongly characterised by non-casino EGMs that are placed in business premises such as supermarkets and petrol stations, or in dedicated gambling arcades located in shopping centres. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, EGMs constituted a significant share of the gross gambling revenue of Veikkaus: Over half of the gross gambling revenue of the monopoly holder were derived from so-called excitement games consisting mainly of EGMs (Marionneau and Lähteenmaa, 2020). Veikkaus is in the process of reducing its EGM network, Finland still has a high per capita count of EGMs (Heiskanen et al, 2020). EGM gambling is prevalent in Finnish population studies. The population study of 2019 shows that 31 percent of Finns had gambled on non-casino EGMs during the last 12 months (Salonen et al, 2020). The share is notably higher than for example in the neighbouring countries Sweden or Norway (two and five percent, respectively, cf. Heiskanen et al, 2020)
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