The athletic broadcasting network Eurosport has been levied a fine of €800,000 (£676,940) for breaching gambling promotional rules in Finland.

The Finnish National Police Board determined that the channel had been promoting gambling services to the Finnish market during commercial breaks in Finland for a number of years, despite overseas operators and broadcasters being prohibited from advertising to Finnish players. The police board discovered these ads on the Eurosport 1 television channel transmitted in Finland. These ads were deemed to be targeted at Finnish players because they included Finnish banking details as a verification option and they were in Finnish.

In addition to the penalty, Eurosport has been prohibited from advertising gambling services in Finland for a period of three months.

“According to our legislation, the regulatory process grants companies the opportunity to modify their operations and express their viewpoints,” stated Anna-Emilia Siren, Senior Advisor at the Gambling Authority Police Board. “As the authority, we will take into account the other party’s perspectives, but if required, we will forbid activities that we consider unlawful.

“The Lottery Act has stringent regulations on the marketing of gambling services to safeguard consumers from the negative consequences of gambling.”

The Finnish administration recently presented a proposition to the legislative body to modify the lottery legislation, aiming to boost gambling, which impedes the attainment of Finland’s gambling system objectives.

Under the new rules, the exclusive operator Veikkaus will be prohibited from promoting slot machines.

Transnational gambling marketing contravenes the lottery law as it seeks to enhance gambling, hindering the realization of Finland’s gambling system objectives.

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