Veikkaus, the Finnish national gambling operator, announced this Friday that they will shut down all gaming sites and slot machines in supermarkets, kiosks, gas stations and restaurants in order to reduce the risk of coronavirus (koronavirus, in Finnish) infection for its customers, partners and staff.
In addition, Casino Helsinki, as well as Feel Vegas and Pelaamot will close at least until the end of March, the company said in a press release.
"Human health is always a priority. In order to deal with this exceptional situation, every effort must be made to prevent the virus from spreading, for example, through the contact surfaces. For our part, we prepare ourselves by closing our slot machines at least until the end of March," said Olli Sarekoski, CEO of Veikkaus .
Distributed slot machines will close at the end of Friday, as will Feel Vegas and Pelaamot. Casino Helsinki has been closed since Friday.
However, the company says games continues to run normally on Veikkaus' online network and app, as well as the sale of coupon games and scratch cards at dealerships. For betting purposes, the items are open to the extent that they are available.
Customer events organized by Veikkaus, for example at casinos and sporting events, are canceled for the time being.
"We are constantly monitoring the development of the coronavirus situation and, if necessary, we will come up with more rapid solutions that can be considered to have a virus-preventing effect," said Sarekoski.
Veikkaus does not at this stage plan to lay off staff in connection with the closure of gaming sites and slot machines.
