Helsinki is a home for many fascinating industries and organizations but none of them is perhaps as polarizing as gambling is. Both Finnish physical casinos and online casinos are thoroughly intriguing, wrapped in many peculiar facts that non-Finnish people might even find weird.
Below, we’ll uncover some surprising facts you might not have known before about gambling in Finland and especially in Helsinki.
Casino dealers make way less than you think
The gambling industry seems so glamorous and luxurious but surprisingly, dealers don’t make nearly as much as you might have imagined. According to SalaryExpert, an average dealer makes about 26 000€ or approximately 13€ per hour.
On the bright side, salary increases with experience, and most entry-level dealer jobs don’t require specific knowledge since training will be on-site. Not too shabby for someone without any job experience but a thrive to learn about casino games!
There’s only one casino in Finland
Now we get to the most peculiar part of the Finnish gambling industry. All Finnish gambling operations are handled by one company called Veikkaus Oy which is, in fact, a state-owned company. Veikkaus runs one physical casino in Finland and that’s located right in Helsinki.
So, when you’re playing in Casino Helsinki, you can feel proud because that’s literally the only Finnish casino available! Besides that, Veikkaus puts most of the profit to charities, so you’re essentially gambling for a good cause.
The curious case of the Aland Islands
While in mainland Finland there’s just Casino Helsinki, it’s possible to gamble in another place in Finland – in Mariehamn, the capital city of Aland Islands. Aland is an autonomous region with a completely different set of gambling regulations, so the Finnish gambling rules don’t apply there.
Aland Islands is the home of Paf
Paf is a very well-known name for not only Finnish players, but many Europeans too. This international gaming company was actually established in the Aland Islands already in 1966 and works there to this day.
Paf started off as a charity organization and has now grown into one of the best casinos in the Baltic region. In addition to being one of the first gambling organizations in Europe, Paf was also the first to establish an internet-based gambling option with their online casino.
Helsinki has an active poker scene
Despite gambling being controlled by a state-owned company, poker is one of the most active gambling types in Helsinki, growing bigger and bigger every year. There are even several very popular and successful Finnish poker players, such as a true legend Patrik Antonius and a big-time winner Juha Helppi.
As Casino Helsinki runs cash games every day, it’s easy for anyone start with poker. Poker remains one of the most loved gambling types and only promises to grow bigger in the coming years.
