Finnish social media influencer penalized for promoting unlicensed gambling
A Finnish court has imposed penalties on social media influencer Lauri Kangas for promoting unlicensed gambling activities
A Finnish court has ruled against social media influencer Lauri Kangas for his involvement in promoting unlicensed gambling activities.
In Finland, Veikkaus holds the exclusive rights to offer gambling services, yet Kangas utilized platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat, Twitch, and his personal website to promote content from unauthorized operators.
The prosecution contended that Kangas primarily targeted a Finnish audience, violating the country's ban on promoting gambling activities not provided by Veikkaus.
While the defense argued that some of Kangas' audience was located outside Finland, the court determined that the Finnish-language content held significant relevance.
Consequently, Kangas received a suspended prison sentence and was instructed to surrender approximately €51,000 earned from his illicit gambling marketing activities.
This case closely follows the Finnish National Police Board's recent €2.4 million fine imposed on Betsson's BML Group for marketing to Finnish customers.
The NPB discovered that Betsson had unlawfully targeted mainland Finland players through various marketing channels over an extended period.
Veikkaus, the state-controlled gambling monopoly, has welcomed the potential opening of Finland's gambling market to competition, urging the government to expedite the introduction of a regulated market.