Finns Love Gambling in Odd Places

In the states we have Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno and a few other smaller areas where gambling is popular and casinos or slot machines are commonplace. Outside of that, it's rare to see gambling. In Finland we have yet to see a casino, but the Finns apparently LOVE gambling. There are video slot machines EVERYWHERE! Even inside the grocery store, in fact, most often in the grocery store.

The only thing we think they love more is alcohol and saunas!

The slot machines are run by a governmental monopolies and the money collected that is profit for the company is said to go toward charitable causes and the welfare system of the country. There are certainly arguments on both sides of this one, with some claiming it's a corrupt system, others with proof the proceeds are funding charitable causes. One thing, however, remains: these machines are nearly ALWAYS being played by someone.

It seems strange to us to finish our grocery shopping and stand next to the slot machine for a few minutes, but it's apparently pretty commonplace.

I accidentally played at a grocery store when it apparently asked me in Finnish if I wanted my coupon for depositing bottles or wanted to use it toward playing slots. I had no idea what was on the screen so I simply pushed the green button thinking it would spit out my coupon (see earlier post about recycling). Instead, slot wheels popped up on the video screen and a lost my €0.40 rebate for recycling in the blink of an eye! Oops.

Neither Adam or I are gamblers so this Finnish tradition is a bit bizarre to us, but as weird as it is, we smile every time we see the line of folks at the grocery awaiting their turn at the machines.

Things we've learned about Finland this week:

1. Finns LOVE to gamble. Although it's not for us, we smile when we see it.

2. Slot machines are heavily regulated by the government even though they are monopolies.

#grocerystoregambling