Kaisa Sivenius : Gambling in Finland : themes and data for qualitative research

Gambling plays a prominent role in Finnish leisure and everyday life, as money games are available in kiosks, petrol stations, grocery stores, gambling halls – and online. The politics, business, and cultures of gambling in Finland have changed significantly in the 2000s with the global change of the gambling industry, new regulatory pressures from the European Union, and reforms of the Finnish gambling legislation. Over the past few years the Finnish gambling monopoly has been written in the law; problem gambling has become better recognised and treated, and more funding has been made available for the study of these phenomena.

This book is the first scholarly overview of the organisation and role of gambling in contemporary Finnish society and culture. The critical interdisciplinary approach reaches out from detecting changes to explaining them. En route, the contributing experts identify fresh data, approaches, and topics that wait for more attention. The new research-based information serves specialists in regulation, non-governmental organisations, gambling companies, and treatment services. A photograph and poster supplement and a chronology of events illustrate the history and change of gambling in Finland.