Revenues fall for Veikkaus as it invests in digital and international business
Despite revenues being down by 7.2 per cent to €959.1m 2024, Veikkaus said 2024 was a significant year of development work for the Finnish operator as it was preparing for the money gaming market, which will partially open in 2027.
During the year, Veikkaus made major investments in the development of digital gaming and international business, doubling its investment in business development compared to the previous year. Fennica Gaming, Veikkaus’ international business-to-business subsidiary, also had a promising year, with the company enjoying growth in its turnover. Veikkaus’ domestic business year was challenging, but the number of customers remained at a good level.
Just over 60 per cent of Veikkaus’ gross gaming revenue came from the digital channel (up 5.4 percentage points) and 39.8 per cent from physical points of sale. At the end of 2024, Veikkaus had approximately 2,600,000 registered customers. The number of registered customers increased by approximately 80,000 during the year.
2024 was the first full year when all Veikkaus games required authentication, which affected the development of Veikkaus Oy’s gross gaming revenue. The decrease was particularly affected by the authentication requirement for ticket-based games implemented in spring 2023 and the authentication requirement of scratchcards that entered into force at the beginning of 2024. In addition, the gross gaming revenue of physical slot machines decreased due to changes in point-of-sale networks. General changes in consumer behaviour and decreases in purchasing power also had an impact on Veikkaus’ business. In addition, the launches of several new games were delayed due to slower than expected progress in official permit processes.
Money gaming is shifting strongly towards the digital channel, where Veikkaus is competing against offshore operators that currently operate in Finland without authorisation. In 2024, according to an estimate by H2 Gambling Capital, the domestic expenditure on games provided by operators other than Veikkaus exceeded €550m. During the year under review, Veikkaus accounted for approximately half of the total digital money gaming market in Finland.
Veikkaus has done a lot of development work in preparing for the upcoming change in the gambling system.
Veikkaus CFO Regina Sippel said: “The reform of the gambling system is a great opportunity for Veikkaus, and we have done long-term work to prepare for the future. In 2024, as planned, we implemented the Veikkaus strategy and invested in both business development and international growth. We want to continuously develop, driven by our new mission ‘We passionately drive better gaming.”
Fennica Gaming, Veikkaus’ international business-to-business subsidiary, also had a promising year, with the company enjoying growth in its turnover. By the end of the year, the company had 14 corporate customers on three different continents.
In 2024, Fennica Gaming delivered online scratchcards to the world’s largest markets in France and the state of Virginia in the United States. The company’s product range expanded and the customer feedback received during the year was also positive.
“Our subsidiary Fennica Gaming achieved significant results during the year, which also bodes well for the future,” Ms Sippel added. “The data obtained through authenticated gaming activities can also be used to prevent and reduce the harms caused by gambling. Data is used to intervene in risk gambling by means of care communications and care calls.
Susanna Saikkonen, Vice President for Sustainability at Veikkaus, said: “Using the data, we can analyse our players’ gambling habits and identify the signs of high-risk gambling. Veikkaus launched its care calls in 2022, making two thousand calls. Thanks to the positive experiences with this, the number of calls was increased, and in 2024, more than 6,000 calls were made. The reception of and feedback on care calls has been very good. The aim of the calls is to inform people of the tools and guide them to use services that help manage gambling.”
In addition to care calls, Veikkaus also provides other care communications to its customers.
“Communications and care calls are used to encourage players to take, for example, a gambling test, check loss limits, set gambling bans or refer the player to help, if necessary. Our goal is to offer our customers the safest possible gaming environment,” said Saikkonen.
