From Gambling to Gam(bl)ing: Population-Level Evidence of Changing Play Cultures in Finland

Kinnunen argues that the convergence of gambling and digital gaming should be understood not only as a matter of gambling-like mechanics entering games, but as a broader reorganization of monetized play at the population level. Drawing on the Finnish Player Barometer, a series of nationally representative surveys conducted regularly between 2009 and 2024, the paper examines participation in digital games, gambling, esports, social casino games, loot box spending, and in-game monetary expenditure. The central empirical finding is a turning point around 2015, when participation in gambling (75.9% of Finns aged 10–75) and digital gaming (75.0%) reached near parity. Digital gaming has since overtaken gambling, reaching 81.1% of the population by 2024 compared with 64.0% for gambling.

The study also reports that gambling-like forms of digital play have become mainstream rather than marginal. In 2024, 8.0% of respondents reported spending money on loot boxes and 5.8% reported playing social casino games, with loot box spending exceeding participation in horse race betting (6.3%). Although traditional lotteries, sports betting, and casino-style gambling remain more common overall, the author contends that the relative centre of gravity of monetized play has shifted toward digital environments that incorporate gambling-like practices.

Theoretically, the paper draws on cultural game studies and interpretivist gambling research to argue that distinctions between real money, play money, and in-game currencies are increasingly difficult to sustain analytically. The conclusions have implications for regulation and harm prevention, suggesting that policy frameworks treating gambling and gaming as separate domains may be insufficient for an evolving ecosystem of risk. The Finnish case is presented as a potential early indicator of how play cultures evolve as digital gaming and gambling-like monetization become central features of everyday play.