The cornerstone of unity

17 FINLAND’S SLOT MACHINE ASSOCIATION
Finland’s Slot Machine Association RAY, founded on April Fool’s Day in 1938, is a social innovation that 
developed over many decades and became a bridge between non-profit organisations and the government. 
Gambling throughout Finland was brought under the control of these civil society organisations and the public 
administration.
German and Finnish businessmen began offering gambling opportunities in the middle of the 1920s in the 
form of the gambling arcade game called Payazzo (from German 
Bajazzo
, from the Italian commedia dell’arte 
clown 
Pagliaccio
). The public however rather quickly started worrying about businessmen enriching themselves 
at the expense of people’s gambling weakness. Public pressure on the authorities increased, so a decree was 
issued already in 1933 that permitted only charities to operate gambling machines. 
Finland’s Slot Machine Association RAY was started in 1938 by eight founding organisations, for which the 
government created this joint method of collecting funds for improving public health. This association 
governed by public law was a worldwide unique entity, which has also attracted international attention. Unlike 
normal registered associations, RAY was established right from the start as a joint project of the state and 
nonprofit organisations for the purpose of collecting funds through legal gambling for nonprofit organisations 
and their charitable work. The state wanted to support these organisations and enable them to focus on their 
work instead of spending too much time on fund raising. 
RAY began operating on 1 April 1 1938 with the 670 gambling machines transferred to its control. Already 
from the first year’s revenues, a total of 12 million Finnish markka (4.2 million in today’s euros) were allocated 
to 84 different charitable organisations. RAY created a network of representatives for making agreements with 
mostly restaurant owners and some other business owners, and it began to manufacture and service 
gambling machines and collect the accumulated money. RAY also processed the funding applications of the 
non-
profit organisations and advised the government on how to allocate RAY’s profits. In addition, RAY 
monitored the entire flow of money from the coin slots up to its use according to the funding decisions. 
Funding was given to all nonprofit organisations that fulfilled certain criteria. Casino games were added at the 
end of the 1960s, RAY’s own arcades at the end of the 1980s, and a casino that meets international 
standards at the beginning of the 1990s.
By the end of 2016, RAY provided a total of about 10.5 billion euros of funding to a total of about 3,500 non-
profit organisations. These are truly large numbers, and they would have been difficult if not downright 
impossible to achieve in other ways.
RAY achieved its best result ever in 2016, enabling the Finnish government to distribute 317.6 million euros 
of funding. Some of this went towards benefits and disability compensations for veterans. Over the years, a total 
of about 2.4 billion euros of RAY profits have been used for Finnish veterans!
Thanks are due to the players. One out of three adult Finnish citizens has participated in amassing this 
huge sum by playing RAY games.
The money that players pay in the form of coins, banknotes, and nowadays also cards and online money 
transfers are the beginning of a chain that in the end reaches all the way to individual aid recipients.
RAY aid funding has done much to reduce inequality. The organisations who received the funding have for 
decades done valuable work to help people in need who did not get enough help from society in dealing with 
serious problems early or later in their lives. These people were helped by organisations supported by RAY 

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funding.
RAY also enabled the creation of other social innovations in the organisations it supported. Some of these 
innovations were adopted by the public administration and as part of the services provided by municipalities. 
RAY’s goal was to help create new ways of doing things that could become part of society’s regular services.
There are not many areas of Finnish society where non-profit organisations funded by RAY are not active in 
improving everyday life. The beneficiaries range from babies to senior citizens, and Finland would not be what it 
is without these organisations.
RAY did its job well and was successful in supporting social welfare and health organisations in their 
important work for the benefit of Finnish citizens.
At the beginning of 2017, RAY and the two other Finnish gaming companies, Fintoto and Veikkaus, were 
merged into a new company, also called Veikkaus, which is owned by the Finnish state and which by law has 
the monopoly for gaming in Finland.
A government-granted gaming monopoly is the best method of preventing abuses related to gambling and of 
reducing its negative effects on social welfare and health. The merger has made the monopoly even stronger, 
and the new company has been able to develop more effective tools for helping compulsive gamblers control 
their gambling because they now have a single gambling account.
The original goal of 78 years ago has not disappeared. It is important that the voices and opinions of the 
funded organisations be taken into account in running Finland’s public gaming. Long-time experience brings 
wisdom that is best not ignored.
Funds collected from gaming will continue to improve Finnish health and well-being and prevent poverty 
through non-profit organisations that provide those in need with support and help.
RAY has indeed provided the new Finnish gaming monopoly with excellent resources in the form of both 
revenues 
and 
operating 
methods.
Raimo Vistbacka 
– RAY’s last chairperson of the board 2016–2017,
Minister of Transport 1989
–1990, Member of Parliament 1987–2011