Veikkaus warns customers over scam phone calls

Finnish gambling monopoly Veikkaus has issued a warning to customers after it was made aware that some of its games were being offered over the phone by a third party without permission.

According to Veikkaus, its Lottoa, Vikinglottoa and Eurojackpotia games were among those affected, with some customers being contacted on numerous occasions since autumn of last year.

Veikkaus said that it did not make these phone calls as it does not sell games or take money from customers over the phone.

“The calls have not been made by Veikkaus and our games cannot be purchased by telephone,” Veikkaus executive vice president legal and responsibility, Pekka Ilmivalta, said. “If you get a marketing call and are unclear about this, you should contact Veikkaus' customer service.”

Veikkaus said it may contact players over the phone on occasion, but this would be via its customer services team in reference to a player’s relationship with the operator, their winnings or if a payment or withdrawal was pending.

“We will never sell our games over the phone or solicit customer account IDs, passwords or full personal identification numbers,” Ilmivalta said. “Veikkaus' calls also never come from an unknown number.”

Veikkaus has contacted authorities in Finland over the unsolicited phone calls.

Last month, Veikkaus set out plans to bolster its responsible gambling measures in 2020, but warned that changes to its operating strategy could lead to a €50m (£42.5m/$55.5m) decline in earnings.

Veikkaus plans to introduce compulsory identification in order for customers to play slot machines and other games, as well as amend its marketing strategy to focus more on promoting responsible gambling. It is also launching a drive to take 3,500 slot machines out of service this month, aiming to complete this by the end of 2020.