ID requirement for Finnish scratch cards launches

A series of scratch card games in Finland operated by Veikkaus have become the last product group which require identification to purchase.

The regulations for the Ässä and Casino cards, which came into force at the turn of the year, are part of the Lotteries Act which was enacted in 2021.

“As of the beginning of this year, Veikkaus is the first game company in the world that requires identification in all digital and physical channel games, said Susanna Saikkonen, Veikkaus’ director of responsibility.

“When the customer can play only with identification, it is possible for them to track their total playing from the game history. At the turn of the year, scratch cards also came under the annual loss limit and game suspensions.”

Veikkaus’ head of lottery games Ville Venojärvi said that Christmas raffle sales proved popular gifts over the festive period.

“The raffle sale last Christmas was quite in line with expectations,” Venojärvi  said.

“Even though lotteries purchased in 2023 can be redeemed without identification until the end of 2024, there was no evidence that lotteries were purchased for storage. This also shows that identification is a familiar procedure for our players and we expect this to go well with lottery sales as well.”