Veikkaus asked to be vigilant in procurement

Minister of European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen has warned the state-owned gambling company Veikkaus to be open, transparent and vigilant in its procurement, said a government press release.

“All state-owned companies are required to be open and transparent. I expect Veikkaus to be vigilant in its procurement. As a rule, procurement must be tendered or in line with the precautionary principle, a notice must be made concerning a direct procurement or changes in procurement,” said Tuppurainen.

The minister made the remarks after he had commissioned an external, independent legal assessment of the procurement package concerning the continuation of Veikkaus Oy’s game engine contract.

On 27 January 2020, the procurement decision made by the state-owned company was discussed on the TV programme MOT produced by the national broadcaster Yle.

The minister, earlier, had requested a report from the Veikkaus Board of Directors and it was made public on 20 February 2020.

Veikkaus made changes to the contract on its central gambling system in 2018 without a tendering process. Bird & Bird, an external and independent legal adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office, assessed the legality of this decision from the point of view of the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts, and, to the extent necessary, assessed the activities of Veikkaus Board of Directors in the light of the provisions of the Limited Liability Companies Act.

According to Veikkaus’ report, when making the amendment to its game engine contract, Veikkaus applied the grounds for direct procurement of additional work or services laid down in the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts.

According to the external adviser’s report, based on the information provided, it is possible to apply this justification and, consequently, Veikkaus was able to rely on such an interpretation in its decision-making.

“Veikkaus must continue to tender for its procurement in a systematic manner. In line with this, the package under review will be subject to competitive tendering in 2024,” said Tuppurainen.