Paf profits feel impact of responsible gambling measures

Governments across Europe and Asia are beginning to implement harsh restrictions on gambling operators in an effort to curb problem gambling and prevent children from picking up the habit. These measures include everything from reduced advertising for gambling operators to reduced stakes for players.
Not surprisingly, responsible gambling rules are having a big impact on the businesses that provide casino services to the players these rules are meant to protect. One good example of this phenomenon is Paf, the leading operator out of Finland. Since the Finnish Government introduced a series responsible gambling measures back in 2018, Paf has seen its profits drop by an astonishing 16 percent…and those measures have not even been fully implemented yet.
Earlier this week, Paf reported that its turnover for 2018 clocked in at €111.8 million ($125.5 million USD). While that’s a very big number, it also represents a full four percent drop from last year’s number. Almost all of Paf’s decline came from its online operations – ship-board and land-based operations suffered only minor declines.
Much of Paf’s losses were centered on a small core of high volume players, the same players who the new rules on responsible gambling were targeted on in the first place. Paf CEO Christer Fahlstedt played off the loss of high volume players saying that their action was unsustainable and, according to CalvinAyre.com, “…he entire gaming industry would feel much better about itself if all the companies openly reveal how they earn their money and choose to stop the big players.”
Things could be looking up for Paf in the future as it opens operations in Latvia and Sweden.