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Finnish Minister Says State Should Treat Gambling Monopoly Revenues like Alcohol Profits

Published

5 years ago

August 10, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Antti Kurvinen, Finland’s minister of science and culture, has proposed that revenues from the state-owned gambling monopoly, Veikkaus, be transferred to the state budget.

On Saturday Kurvinen said that the betting agency’s income is declining, and without a change so will the income of charities and other groups that benefit from its profits. Veikkaus revenues are distributed to organisations in the fields of culture, sports, science, and youth work as well as social welfare and health.

Kurvinen proposed making the change from the beginning of 2024.

“My view is that from the beginning of 2024, Veikkaus’ income should be transferred to the state budget in the same way as, for example, Alko transfers its own dividends and income to the state budget, from which they are used for good purposes,” Kurvinen said.

Kurvinen said that he has reached the same position on the matter as a working group chaired by former Bank of Finland Governor Erkki Liikanen, which last spring proposed a comprehensive reform to divert gambling revenues to general government revenue and transfer current beneficiaries to the budget framework procedure.

The need for reform is due to Veikkaus’ declining income. This is due to a drop in slot machine revenues because of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as measures taken to tackle gambling addiction.

“Without a clear change and reform, we will find ourselves in a situation where the income of Veikkaus’ beneficiaries is constantly falling. This is about the income of Finnish science, culture, youth organisations and especially sports and exercise,” Kurvinen said.

According to Kurvinen, the distribution of Veikkaus revenues through the budget would bring predictability to cash flows, which is essential for beneficiaries.

“Recent years have shown that we are in a strange situation here: the success of a Finnish gaming company determines what kind of resources there are, for example, for top Finnish sports and youth sports or for high-level Finnish research. This creates a strange, uncertain situation,” Kurvinen said.

The problem with the new way of distributing Veikkaus, revenues has been that it would make the funding of beneficiaries dependent on political decision-making.

Kurvinen does not deny that the change would increase the role of political decision-making, but said he considers that a lesser evil than the uncertainty and funding cuts that lie ahead if no reforms are made.

“In the long run, however, it would be clearer and less problematic to make political value decisions than for the success of Veikkaus’ business to be the determining factor in how many opportunities there are for young researchers in Finland or how much art is funded in Finland,” Kurvinen said.

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Digicode to demo Diger Suite iGaming stack at iGB L!VE London 2026

Published

50 minutes ago

June 30, 2026

Wladimir P.

digicode-to-demo-diger-suite-igaming-stack-at-igb-l!ve-london-2026

The company says it will show five modules covering RGS, PAM, payments, affiliates and an AI ops assistant at ExCeL London on 1–2 July.

Digicode will exhibit at iGB L!VE London 2026 on July 1–2 at ExCeL London, where it plans to showcase its Diger Suite modular iGaming technology ecosystem.

The company said the Diger Suite is built to help operators integrate multiple technology partners while maintaining player experience, compliance workflows and operational agility as they expand into regulated markets.

Digicode’s product lineup at the show includes DigerRGS (remote game server for launching, distributing and managing content across jurisdictions), DigerPAM (player account management covering player operations, compliance and responsible gaming controls), and DigerPay (payment orchestration supporting local payment methods and regulatory requirements).

It will also present DigerClick, an affiliate management platform with tracking, partner management, commission automation and analytics, plus DigerCompanion, described as an AI-powered operational assistant for automating customer support and internal workflows.

Digicode said its team will use the event to meet operators, game providers, affiliates and technology partners to discuss platform interoperability, modernization of legacy systems, and approaches to reducing vendor lock-in through modular integrations.

The post Digicode to demo Diger Suite iGaming stack at iGB L!VE London 2026 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Million Games launches Skull King’s Treasure with partner studio Arcane Pixel

Published

50 minutes ago

June 30, 2026

Wladimir P.

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High-volatility 6×6 cluster slot goes live to operators and aggregators via Million Games on 30 June 2026.

Million Games has launched Skull King’s Treasure, a high-volatility cluster slot developed in partnership with Million Stars studio Arcane Pixel. The game becomes available to operators and aggregators through the Million Games distribution network on 30 June 2026.

The title is Arcane Pixel’s first release under the Million Games brand. It runs on a 6×6 grid with a cluster pay mechanic, paying on connections of five or more matching symbols and using cascading wins to enable multiple outcomes from a single spin.

Gameplay is built around Wild generation and multiplier progression via the Skull King mechanic. Winning Wild symbols are absorbed to increase the multiplier for subsequent cascades, linking continued wins with increased payout potential.

A Free Spins mode triggers on four or more Scatter symbols and awards up to 10 spins. During Free Spins, the multiplier does not reset between spins.

“With Skull King’s Treasure, Arcane Pixel has delivered a confident first release,” said Thomas Nimstad, CEO of Million Games. “The game combines familiar cluster mechanics with strong multiplier progression, creating a clear and engaging experience with real upside. It’s exactly the kind of partner-driven innovation the Million Stars programme is built to support.” Million Games said the title has a maximum win potential of 10,000x the bet.

The post Million Games launches Skull King’s Treasure with partner studio Arcane Pixel appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Paysecure hires Entain’s Ganesh Iyer as Head of Product

Published

2 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Wladimir P.

paysecure-hires-entain’s-ganesh-iyer-as-head-of-product

The payment orchestration platform also appoints Lili Piper as Senior Partnership Manager and adds infrastructure and blockchain leads.

Paysecure has appointed Ganesh Iyer, formerly of Entain, as Head of Product, as the payment orchestration platform looks to scale internationally across iGaming and global ecommerce.

Paysecure said Iyer will lead the next stage of product design. At FTSE 100-listed Entain, he led Global Payments across 20+ regulated markets, managing a team of seven Product Managers and distributed engineering squads.

The company also named Lili Piper as Senior Partnership Manager. Piper previously worked as Business Development Director at Volt.io and Senior Business Development Manager at Paysafe, and will focus on growing revenue from Paysecure’s partner network and adding strategic partners to expand payment method choice for clients.

Paysecure added that it has made further hires over the last two months, including Head of Infrastructure and Head of Blockchain, as it expands its technical footprint.

Ganesh Iyer, Head of Product, Paysecure, commented, “After time at Entain, I am pleased to join the Paysecure team and having worked on the operator side of the orchestration space, I can’t wait to get started. I’m looking forward to refining our products to clearly address the deep needs of our client personas, and surface clear product and functionality feature sets that differentiate us in our market as a challenger brand.”

Amit Hooja, Co-Founder and CEO at Paysecure, said: “We’re excited to welcome Ganesh and our new colleagues to the Paysecure team. Ganesh will spearhead our product development, and there’s a shared sense of purpose towards the work we are doing, which we believe is game changing in the payment orchestration space. We look forward to bringing new products to the market and continue to lead the way in the sector”.

The post Paysecure hires Entain’s Ganesh Iyer as Head of Product appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.