A Finn always wins? justifications, governance, and contradictions of the Finnish gambling-profit-based public good.

In Finland, gambling has been heavily associated with the public good represented by the third sector. Revenue from monopolized gambling operations has been channelled to third-sector organizations working in the fields of sports, culture, science, health, and social welfare for over 80 years. However, this justification for gambling policies has received increasing criticism from both researchers, politicians, and the public. Moreover, from 2024 onwards, revenue from the state gambling monopoly is to be transferred to the state budget. Currently, the Finnish government is planning to move away from the monopoly system altogether. Before these major changes occur, this study sheds light on the recent constructions of the Finnish gambling-profit-based public good.

The idea that gambling serves the public or common good has been challenged by recent gambling policy research that has questioned whether a harmful and addictive activity can provide any good for society and, if so, at what cost. Moreover, civil society and non-profit studies have approached the relations between the (welfare) state and third sector in the production of the societal good. These studies have addressed contradictions in the current relationships between the ‘sectors' from a governmental perspective. Rarely, however, are the public good and its contradictions approached by combining perspectives from both gambling and third-sector studies. This dissertation, which adopts a sociological approach, combines discussions from both fields. The study asks: What kind of constructions of the public good are reproduced regarding the Finnish gambling-profit-based grants?

The study provides more knowledge on three aspects of the public good: First, it investigates the way contradictions such as the inherent moral dilemma of gambling serving the public good are handled by the beneficiaries of the system. The study deepens the understanding of this dilemma in the different political and cultural contexts with comparisons between the Finnish and French beneficiaries of gambling. Second, it opens how concepts such as public good, civil society, state, and welfare become understood in everyday reasonings on the Finnish gambling-profit-based grant system. This aspect is approached by comparing the views from the Finnish third sector, citizens, and media. Third, the study maps out the roles construed to the third and public sector within the hybrid governance of the gambling-profit-based grant system. The meanings reproduced in these governmental processes are grasped by comparing two gambling-profit-based funding models in Finland, one attached to the former Slot Machine Association or Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA), another to the Ministry of Education and Culture.

The overarching method used by the dissertation is triangulation: the application of various methods or data sources in qualitative research to provide extensive understanding of a certain phenomenon, in this case constructions of the Finnish gambling-profit-based public good. The analytical frameworks applied in this dissertation include thematic analysis, system theoretical applications, semiotic theory, and the theory of moral disengagement.

The primary data for the dissertation consists of 20 semi-structured thematic interviews conducted in 2015–2017 with the representatives of organizations receiving gambling-profit-based state grants and six interviews with officials from these ministries specialized in the grant application processes. In addition, the study utilizes data sets from the broader research projects with which it collaborated. This data includes 46 articles published in the largest Finnish daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat (HS), between the years 2010 and 2016, 19 focus group interviews conducted with a total of 88 participants in the Helsinki region in the winter of 2017–2018, and 13 interviews with French beneficiaries of gambling. In relation to the three aspects that this dissertation started from, its main findings are following: Regarding the first aspect, the thesis identified five justification strategies on how Finnish beneficiaries dealt with the moral dilemma of profiting from gambling. Regarding the second aspect, the everyday constructions of the gambling-profit-based public good were based on two norms: the nationalistic and protectionist ideals and the understanding of gambling proceeds as “added value” for the Finnish welfare society. The findings indicate the so-called "responsibility dilemma" regarding the role of the state and civil society as representatives of the public interest. In relation to the third aspect, the governance of public good appear to reproduce a paradox based on conflicting ideals and practices regarding the societal role of the third sector, especially within the funding model connected to the former Slot Machine Association, the current STEA.

The study concludes that the accountability of public funding and the autonomy of the civil society should be further studied both on the level of governmental ideals and practices in the state grant system. These issues continue to be topical even though the grants will come directly from the state budget. For the future gambling research, the study recommends observing the public debates regarding the Finnish gambling system in the late 2010s and the gambling political everyday reasonings during the 2020s.