The Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies and the Social Research Institute of Alcohol Studies

Gambling in Finland: problem gambling in the context of a national monopoly in the European Union

AIM

To describe and analyse the Finnish gambling market, regulatory system and the state of gambling research as well as the treatment system in operation for problem gamblers.

METHOD

A review of the literature and official documents relating to gambling in Finland, focusing primarily on the 1990s and 2000s.

RESULTS

Only in recent years have gambling problems become a major issue for public debate in Finland. One reason for the increase in activity to address gambling problems is that, after Finland became a member of the European Union in 1995, the Finnish state gambling monopoly and its compatibility with European Union (EU) regulations have been questioned repeatedly. Since 2000, the Finnish government has put significant new resources into the research as well as the prevention and treatment of gambling problems. The resources grew from almost nothing to several million Euros in less than 10 years. This could be seen as an attempt to protect the national gambling monopoly system by showing that the Finnish monopoly system meets EU requirements.

CONCLUSIONS

Since joining the European Union in 1995, the Finnish government has been able to maintain its gambling monopoly by providing substantial resources to signal a commitment to minimizing problem gambling.

Addiction research centres and the nurturing of creativity: the Department of Alcohol, Drugs and Addiction at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland: diverse problems, diverse perspectives

The Department of Alcohol, Drugs and Addiction started operations on 1 January 2009, when the National Institute of Public Health (KTL) and the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES) were merged. The newly formed institute, called the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), operates under the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The scope of the research and preventive work conducted in the Department covers alcohol, drugs, tobacco and gambling issues. The two main tasks of the Department are (i) to research, produce and disseminate information on alcohol and drugs, substance use, addictions and their social and health-related effects and (ii) to develop prevention and good practices with a view to counteracting the onset and development of alcohol and drug problems and the damaging effects of smoking and other addictions. The number of staff hovers at approximately 60 people. The Department is organized into three units, one specialized in social sciences (the Alcohol and Drug Research Unit), another in laboratory analytics (the Alcohol and Drug Analytics Unit) and the third primarily in preventive work (the Addiction Prevention Unit). These units incorporate a rich variety and long traditions of both research and preventive work. The mixture of different disciplines creates good opportunities for interdisciplinary research projects and collaboration within the Department. Also, the fact that in the same administrative context there are both researchers and people specialized in preventive work opens up interesting possibilities for combining efforts from these two branches. Nationally, the Department is a key player in all its fields of interest. It engages in a great deal of cooperation both nationally and internationally, and among its strengths are the high-quality, regularly collected long-term data sets.

From large projects to case consultation--interaction of alcohol research and policy in Finland

The interaction of Finnish social alcohol research and alcohol policy will be discussed in this paper. We will examine the history of alcohol research, focusing on the extent that problems related to alcohol policy have been covered in research. We also deliberate upon such questions as to what extent changes in alcohol policy can be linked to the findings of research. Researchers began their work in the 1950s, hoping to find a solution to the problems met in alcohol policy. In the 1960s the era of alcohol policy-centred projects was followed by an era which aimed to increase the factual knowledge of alcohol not necessarily tied to alcohol policy questions. After 1969 alcohol policy questions gained renewed interest. Alcohol research has not directly caused many new measures, but it has influenced the public and private discussion about alcohol policy. Producing results and research reports has been an important way to affect both public discussions and policy making. However, participating in the decision making processes in its different stages has been an even more crucial way to affect alcohol policy. Particularly in the 1970s, the ideas and views presented in studies had fairly immediate and direct repercussions on both alcohol policy and practical measures.