Finland rejects poker ban

2007-02-27 16:39:16

An audacious attempt to widen a ban on child pornography so that it also covered online poker has been rejected by senior Finnish officials, it has been revealed.

The minister of transport and communications rejected calls to increase the scope of the existing internet legislation, standing firm in the face of government-appointed groups.

A gambling committee had suggested that the ban now include certain poker sites, but minister Susanna Huovinen said that such extensions would only be viable if poker as a whole was outlawed.

"Child pornography is criminal material, which online poker is not. I would rather tackle problems with information and education," she said to Finnish newspaper Keskisuomalainen.

Current regulations allow Finnish residents with Finnish bank accounts to bet online. The Finnish lottery, Oy Veikkaus, was among the first state lotteries to go online in the 1990s.

However, the country is currently being investigated by the European Commission regarding its perceived protectionist measures.


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