Finnish Marketing Guidelines
Approval of marketing in Finland
Any specific campaigns targeting Finnish players must be submitted for pre-approval by the Marketing and Affiliate Compliance Department. This includes any material which will be primarily submitted to customers in the Finnish language, as well as any campaigns which have Finnish players comprise 50% or more of the target audience. All content must be submitted for pre-approval in English.
Localisation restrictions
Content which is heavily localized for a Finnish audience represents a real and considerable compliance risk and must therefore be avoided. This includes explicit references to Finnish culture, traditions, national symbols, festivities, themes, literature, and popular culture. For example, references to the “white and blue” / “sauna” / “midsummer” are not to be used. When using imagery, branding or theming, the use of the blue and white colors of the Finnish flag is strongly discouraged. This is in addition to the restrictions outlined above, which also extend to imagery (e.g. depictions of the silver birch tree).
With respect to affiliate content, similar restrictions apply to descriptions of our websites in connection with Finnish audiences. Affiliates may not use language which implies that the websites are heavily or specifically targeting Finnish audiences (e.g., “this website is just made for Finns” / “a brand that’s white and blue.”) Imagery used by affiliates in connection with our brands must also be avoided. Similarly, the onsite use of any affiliate badges/certifications for brands in Finnish, or issued by Finnish-focused affiliate sites is disallowed. Brands must exercise caution in how they make reference to such accolades in their other marketing material, and all such content must be made subject to pre-approval.
Localisation restrictions
Content which is heavily localized for a Finnish audience represents a real and considerable compliance risk and must therefore be avoided. This includes explicit references to Finnish culture, traditions, national symbols, festivities, themes, literature, and popular culture. For example, references to the “white and blue” / “sauna” / “midsummer” are not to be used. When using imagery, branding or theming, the use of the blue and white colors of the Finnish flag is strongly discouraged. This is in addition to the restrictions outlined above, which also extend to imagery (e.g. depictions of the silver birch tree).
With respect to affiliate content, similar restrictions apply to descriptions of our websites in connection with Finnish audiences. Affiliates may not use language which implies that the websites are heavily or specifically targeting Finnish audiences (e.g., “this website is just made for Finns” / “a brand that’s white and blue.”) Imagery used by affiliates in connection with our brands must also be avoided. Similarly, the onsite use of any affiliate badges/certifications for brands in Finnish, or issued by Finnish-focused affiliate sites is disallowed. Brands must exercise caution in how they make reference to such accolades in their other marketing material, and all such content must be made subject to pre-approval.
Postal and Physical Marketing
Under no circumstances may postal campaigns be submitted to residents in Finland. There might be circumstances wherein Finnish players could be included in campaigns with physical gifts, however at a minimum, these would need to be broader RoW / global campaigns (i.e. no specific targeting of Finnish players) and, in any case, such proposals would need to be approved by the Marketing and Affiliate Compliance Department.
Participation of Finnish players in VIP schemes remains unaffected at this stage. However, the organization of specific in-person events/experiences for Finnish VIP players in Finland must be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Marketing and Affiliate Compliance Department.
Approval of Finnish Affiliates
Moving forward, any affiliates wishing to operate specifically in Finland must be onboarded and preapproved by the Marketing and Affiliate Compliance Department, following the same procedures applicable to other jurisdictions. We reserve the right to refuse onboarding of any Finnish affiliate based on a comprehensive risk assessment and individual circumstances relating to the individual applications.
No Finnish affiliates would be able to start carrying out promotional activity in Finnish / in Finland without prior approval. Should such cases be brought to our attention, we reserve the right to refuse onboarding such affiliates and/or request immediate termination of all affiliate activity.
Affiliate campaigns
Affiliates are not allowed to send SMS and postal campaigns to Finnish players. We shall take immediate steps to terminate any such activity and any related affiliate relationship as this represents a considerable regulatory risk.
Affiliates may submit email campaigns promoting our brands to Finnish players, subject to pre-approval by the Marketing and Affiliate Compliance Department.
Affiliate-specific offers specifically targeting Finnish players may still be developed, however both licensees and affiliates must be mindful of the localisation restrictions outlined above. Furthermore, all content relating to such campaigns must be submitted for pre-approval.
The use of streamers broadcasting primarily in the Finnish language and Finnish influencers (i.e. public figures residing in Finland and/or posting primarily in Finnish and/or having a largely Finnish audience) is strictly disallowed.
