Paf is a Finnish gambling company that is best known for operating legal casino activities on cruise ferries that come and go from the Aland Islands of Finland. In addition, the company operates an online casino website (Paf.com), which runs on their own proprietary software but also contains games from a range of other software developers.

Because of this arrangement, Paf takes on a lot of roles, ranging from operator to software provider for their own operations. One of the unusual – but quite positive – aspects of their work is that it is designed to generate funding for a variety of social and humanitarian causes on the Aland Islands, making this essentially a charity gaming operation. For those who have the option of playing at this site, that might be an attractive alternative to privately owned, for-profit casinos that are far more common in the industry.

For the Islands

Ålands Penningautomatförening – better known as Paf – was founded in 1966 in Aland by a coalition of charitable causes, including the Finnish Red Cross and Save the Children. Designed to raise money for these charitable causes and others, the group made a major breakthrough in 1973, when they began to operate gambling activities on ferries and cruise ships that were based out of the islands. Starting in 1999, the company has also expanded to the Internet, running their own online gambling site. Today, the company is licensed and operated by the local government.

Today, the firm operates offices in Helsinki, Stockholm, Madrid, Milan, and Tallinn, and employs people from at least 20 different countries, mainly throughout Europe. Through various acquisitions, the group has been able to serve players not only in parts of Finland, but also in Sweden, Italy, Estonia, and Spain. Perhaps due to their combination of charitable fundraising and a commitment to responsible gaming, this operator has often been lauded for their social practices, even winning the award for the most socially responsible gaming company from eGaming Review in 2014.