From Monopoly to Market: Finland’s Proposed Gambling Overhaul Explained
- Kevin Jones
- Mar 23
- 15 min read
As Finland moves to dismantle its longstanding gambling monopoly, a sweeping legislative proposal is setting the stage for a radically different market landscape. With Veikkaus’s dominance under review and private operators eyeing a newly licensed playing field, this feature unpacks what the reform could mean for businesses, regulators, and the future of Finnish gambling.
Finland is poised to dismantle its decades-old gambling monopoly, ending the exclusive reign of state-owned Veikkaus and inviting private operators into the game. A new bill before Parliament promises to reshape Finland’s gambling market by 2027, replacing monopoly control with a licensing regime that spans online betting and casino games. The stakes are high: supporters argue that channeling Finland’s prodigious gambling appetite into a regulated multi-operator system will boost tax revenue and improve player protections, while critics warn of new social risks. As the Nordic nation joins its European peers in liberalising gambling, all eyes are on how this delicate deal will play out for companies, consumers, and the state’s coffers.
Cracks in the Monopoly: Why Finland Is Changing Course
For years, Veikkaus has been the sole gatekeeper of Finnish gambling, from lotteries and sports betting to slot machines and the country’s only casino. The monopoly model was meant to curb problem gambling and funnel profits to public causes. But the digital era poked holes in that shield. By 2022, roughly half of Finns’ online gambling spend was leaking out to offshore websites beyond Veikkaus’s control. This meant hundreds of millions in untaxed revenue and untamed risks. Veikkaus’s own leadership sounded the alarm after watching their online market share dwindle to 50%. “In Finland, we formally have an exclusive rights system, but if we look at digital gaming, Veikkaus’ market share is only half. You can already ask if we really have an exclusive system anymore,” admitted Velipekka Nummikoski, Veikkaus’s Deputy CEO. The writing was on the wall: the status quo was “not a recommended option,” concluded a 2023 government-commissioned study, noting the “significant gambling disadvantages” arising when half the play happens outside the regulated system.
Veikkaus surprisingly welcomed that verdict. CEO Olli Sarekoski praised the study as “good and balanced,” saying it confirmed the scale of the offshore sector (about €500–550 million annually) and urging that “if the system change is headed towards a licence system... this change happens faster rather than slowly”. In other words, even the monopoly’s stewards recognised that channelling Finnish gamblers into licensed platforms is preferable to haemorrhaging business to the unregulated wild west. The political climate also shifted with a new government in 2023 committed to reform. Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen framed the challenge succinctly: “The aim of the bill has been to find a regulatory solution in which regulation combating gambling harms is balanced with the fact that gambling companies want to apply for a licence, and that online gambling would be directed to a regulated gaming offering,” she said when introducing the legislation. In short, Finland is conceding that a well-regulated competitive market may protect players better than a porous monopoly.
The push to open up also comes from Finland’s neighbours. Every other EU country has now adopted some form of multi-licence gambling framework, and Finland increasingly looked like an outlier clinging to an old model. Experiences abroad showed that state monopolies struggle to compete with the sheer variety and aggressive marketing of international gambling sites. By switching to a licensing system, Finland hopes to emulate the success of fellow Nordics like Denmark and Sweden, which ditched their monopolies (in 2012 and 2019 respectively) and saw most players migrate to legal sites under national oversight. By contrast, Norway’s continued monopoly has led to cat-and-mouse battles with offshore firms – a path Finland was keen to avoid. The choice, as the 2023 study laid out, was between cracking down harder on unlicensed operators or luring them into a regulated fold. Finland has chosen the latter, betting that “a competitive and legally compliant gambling environment” can coexist with strong harm prevention.
Inside the New Gambling Bill: Licensing, Taxes and Timeline
The reform bill now in Parliament sketches out a two-tier gambling landscape: one where Veikkaus retains some exclusive domains, and another where private firms compete under strict licences. Online sports betting and online casino games – which account for the bulk of the gambling revenue currently fleeing offshore – would be opened up to licensed domestic and international operators. For the first time, companies like Betsson, Kindred, or PokerStars could advertise and offer their platforms legally to Finnish customers, so long as they play by Finnish rules and pay Finnish taxes. Veikkaus, meanwhile, would keep its monopoly over lotteries and scratch cards, as well as physical slot machines and casino venues. In other words, the weekly Lotto draw and the neighbourhood slot arcade would still be Veikkaus-only affairs, at least for now. Even horse race betting – until now the turf of Veikkaus (and its predecessor Fintoto) – is slated to open up, allowing commercial bookmakers to take bets on races that were previously monopolised.
To manage this new ecosystem, the law calls for a dedicated Gambling Licensing Authority to be established by 2026. This agency, under the Ministry of Finance, will take over from the Police Board as the chief regulator, armed with powers to vet applicants, issue licenses, enforce marketing rules, and sanction rule-breakers. The plan is for license applications to be accepted starting January 1, 2026, once regulations take effect. Operators that meet the criteria – likely including integrity checks, a local presence or representation, and compliance with Finland’s strict anti-money laundering (AML) standards – could then prepare to launch by January 1, 2027, when the market’s “go live” date is set. This timeline mirrors the “staged rollout” that regulators envision: Veikkaus’s monopoly continues unchanged through 2026, giving a year-long runway to set up the new licensing apparatus before the big switchover. Some industry optimists hope the launch might even happen a bit earlier if Parliament approves the law quickly, but most observers expect the first private betting sites to officially light up in Finland as the calendar flips to 2027.
Key Elements of Finland’s Gambling Reform (proposed) | Current System (Veikkaus monopoly) | Post-Reform System (Licensing) |
|---|---|---|
Online sports betting | Exclusive to Veikkaus | Open to licensed operators (domestic & foreign) |
Online casino games (slots, etc.) | Exclusive to Veikkaus | Open to licensed operators |
Horse race betting | Exclusive to Veikkaus | Open to licensed operators (breaking the monopoly on horse betting) |
Lotteries & scratch cards | Veikkaus monopoly | Remain Veikkaus monopoly |
Land-based casinos | Veikkaus monopoly (Casino Helsinki & Casino Tampere) | Remain Veikkaus monopoly |
Retail slot machines | Veikkaus monopoly (in shops, arcades) | Remain Veikkaus monopoly |
Regulator | National Police Board (under Interior Ministry) | New Gambling Authority (under Finance Ministry) by 2026 |
License Tax | N/A (monopoly pays profits to state) | 22% gross gaming revenue tax on licensees |
Under the proposed system, Finland will impose a 22% gross gaming revenue (GGR) tax on licensed operators, roughly on par with its Nordic counterparts’ regimes (Sweden’s tax is 18% GGR, Denmark’s 20%). In addition, operators will likely pay licensing fees, and of course standard corporate taxes on their profits. The government’s take from gambling will thus come from two streams: Veikkaus’s continued profits (the company will still return dividends to the state from its exclusive products) and the new tax income from private operators. Lawmakers have noted that while Veikkaus’s direct contributions might decline as competition eats into its online business, a greater share of Finns’ overall gambling spend should end up within taxable, controlled channels rather than disappearing offshore. It’s essentially a rebalancing of the social contract: instead of one company’s revenue all going to charity and the treasury, multiple companies will pay taxes that fund public needs, hopefully increasing the total money that benefits Finnish society.
Notably, the bill doesn’t forget the supply side of the industry. B2B gaming suppliers – the companies providing the software, platforms, and games – will also need to obtain licenses under Finland’s new rules. This reflects a trend in Europe to regulate not just the gambling operators but also the supply chain (for example, British and Maltese regulators license key suppliers). For Helsinki, it means more oversight of who is powering the online casinos and betting sites that Finns will use, and potentially additional fee revenue. It could also open a door for Veikkaus’s own subsidiary, Fennica Gaming, which develops lottery and slot games, to expand as a B2B provider in the new ecosystem – effectively turning a wing of the old monopoly into a competitive service provider.
Tight Leash on Ads and Play: Balancing Revenue with Responsibility
Finnish lawmakers are at pains to stress that this liberalisation is not a gambling free-for-all. The reform is packaged as a way to increase channelisation and oversight – and thereby reduce harm – rather than to simply boost gambling volume. “The government says the reforms are meant to reduce gambling harms, while increasing proceeds from the licensing system,” Yle News noted. Achieving that balance means writing strict guardrails into the new law, so that when private operators enter the market, they do so under a code of conduct far tighter than the current offshore Wild West.
Marketing is one major battleground. Finland’s bill proposes some of the toughest advertising rules in Europe for gambling. Influencer marketing will be explicitly banned – social media personalities will not be allowed to promote betting or casino sites. The rationale is to prevent glamorising gambling to young audiences on platforms like Instagram or YouTube. Likewise, the most “addictive” games – a category that essentially means online slots and fast-paced casino games – cannot be advertised in public places or near schools. So we won’t see cities plastered with slot machine ads, and no neon casino billboards blinking by the schoolyard. Traditional brand advertising will be allowed only in a muted form: gambling companies can put their logos on a sponsored sports team’s jersey or advertise in a controlled manner on their own websites, but aggressive mass-market campaigns will be curtailed. Sports sponsorships are given a green light (stadiums may still bear betting logos, for example), reflecting a concession that such partnerships are less directly linked to impulsive gambling than, say, a flashy banner for an online casino.
Operators will also be forbidden from offering sign-up bonuses or other promotions that are a staple of offshore sites. This blanket bonus ban, included in draft form, is meant to prevent a bonus arms race that could fuel excessive play. However, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) – representing major online betting firms – has cautioned that some of these marketing restrictions might backfire. In an open letter, the EGBA warned that banning affiliates and bonuses entirely could undermine channelisation: “A complete prohibition will simply make newly licensed operators less competitive against unlicensed ones. This risks pushing players towards unregulated sites, undermining the very consumer protections the legislation aims to establish,” the group wrote. The concern is that if legal sites can’t advertise effectively or attract players with promotions, the offshore black market (which doesn’t follow the rules) will remain alluring. Finnish regulators seem aware of this fine line. They’ve left the door open to “controlled promotional activities” on operators’ own platforms and possibly through limited channels, and Parliament’s subcommittees may still tweak the ad clauses. The coming months will likely feature a tug-of-war between public health advocates pushing for a hard line on gambling ads, and industry voices urging a bit more marketing leeway to ensure the legal sites can actually win over consumers.
On the responsible gambling front, the new system aims to extend Finland’s already robust protections across all providers. Veikkaus has long had mandatory identification for players and daily loss limits on its online platform. Under the bill, mandatory ID verification will apply universally – even a visiting tourist in Casino Helsinki must show ID, and any online player must be logged in under their verified account. This ensures that no one under 18 can gamble (the legal age remains 18), and that play can be tracked for signs of trouble. A national self-exclusion register will allow a player to ban themselves from all licensed gambling venues and websites in one go. If someone decides to quit gambling or take a break, they won’t need to separately self-exclude from each operator as they do today; one request to the new Authority would apply the block everywhere.
Other harm-reduction measures written into the law include personal deposit and loss limits (players can set caps on how much they spend, and these limits will be enforced across all sites) and “reality check” features prompting players to take breaks. Operators will be required to monitor their customers’ behavior for red flags – excessive spending, frantic chasing of losses, signs of distress – and intervene when necessary. This could mean sending a warning, imposing a cooling-off period, or in serious cases, locking the account and directing the player to support services. The idea is that private gambling companies must actively partake in mitigating problem gambling, not leave it all to individual willpower. “Know Your Customer” will extend beyond verifying identity to understanding playing patterns and acting on them.
On paper, these provisions align with best practices and even exceed what many countries require. But the proof will be in enforcement. The new regulator will have to be vigilant and well-resourced to ensure operators don’t cut corners, especially when profitability is on the line. There’s also the question of unlicensed operators – those who might ignore Finland’s regime and continue targeting players without a local license. The government has already empowered authorities to block payment transactions to and from known unlicensed sites (a measure added in a 2021 law). With licensing, officials could ramp up a blacklist of rogue websites and even attempt ISP blocks or other sanctions, though such moves can be technically tricky. The success of the reform will partly be measured by a metric called channelisation – the proportion of gambling activity that happens on licensed (legal) platforms. Finland will be aiming for a channelisation rate north of 80–90% (similar to Denmark’s successful regime), up from roughly 50% today. Achieving that means not only attracting players to the new legal sites with better offerings, but also squeezing out the unregulated options through enforcement. It’s a classic regulatory carrot-and-stick: make the legal market attractive, and make the illegal market harder to access.
Public health experts remain watchful. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has openly questioned whether increasing the number of gambling operators – even if regulated – might lead to more total gambling and more addiction. Over 150,000 Finns are estimated to have a gambling problem or be at risk (about 4% of the adult population). THL and several NGOs fear that a competitive market will bring a surge of advertising and product availability that could nudge vulnerable people into deeper trouble. They point out that 90% of Finns in a recent survey felt gambling should be tightly restricted or discouraged, suggesting the public appetite for betting is not something that needs further stimulation. These voices advocate that if the market opens, it must open “on Finland’s terms” – with modest advertising, strong loss limits, and constant monitoring of harm indicators.
Regulators insist they hear these concerns. The Interior Ministry has argued that by drawing players to sites with robust safeguards, overall harm can actually be reduced even if gross gambling volume stays the same. Essentially, one euro bet on a licensed site causes less potential damage than one euro bet on an unlicensed site with no safeguards. It’s a compelling argument in theory, but the coming years – if the law passes – will provide real data to either vindicate or challenge that claim. Finland may also adjust on the fly: for instance, if advertising does spike post-2027 and public backlash grows, tighter ad restrictions or taxation changes could follow. Mika Kuismanen, CEO of the Finnish Gambling Industry Association (Rahapeliala ry), noted that there is “broad political consensus on the need for reform” and expects the parliamentary approval to be a formality. But consensus on how to implement it is another matter; finding the sweet spot between a vibrant market and a responsible one will be an ongoing political balancing act.
New Opportunities and Market Reactions
From a business perspective, Finland’s pivot opens a lucrative frontier. The Finnish gambling market is estimated at well over €2 billion in annual turnover, with online gambling accounting for around €1 billion of that. It’s also a relatively wealthy, digitally-savvy population with a known penchant for games of chance – in other words, highly attractive to gambling firms. International operators are already gearing up: many have been quietly serving Finnish customers for years from abroad (sites like Unibet, Bet365, and dozens of online casinos offer Finnish-language options), but now they will be able to do so openly and establish local partnerships. “This legislative reform offers Finland the opportunity to transition to a licensed online gambling market, which promotes safer gambling,” commented Nils Andén, interim CEO of Kindred Group, signalling eagerness from a major Nordic operator to enter under the new rules. Betsson AB’s leadership likewise welcomed the move in investor calls, as Finland represents one of the last big Western European markets still not open to competition.
One somewhat unique entrant will be Paf, the Åland Islands-based operator. Paf (short for Ålands Penningautomatförening) has operated legally in the semi-autonomous Åland region of Finland for decades and even for a time provided online poker to mainland Finns, but it has been largely kept out of the mainland market by Veikkaus’s monopoly. With licensing, Paf could finally expand its mainland presence – a twist of fate where a Finnish company once cordoned off to an island could become a nationwide competitor. Paf’s CEO Christer Fahlstedt has both praise and caution for Finland’s plans. He noted that opening the market is the right decision, but warned his industry peers about the risks of a gold rush mentality: “On January 1, 2027, [operators] will push the button on the biggest marketing campaign Finland has ever seen, and in April of the same year there are elections. I bet in the final debate of that election this industry will have very few friends left,” Fahlstedt quipped, referring to a potential public backlash if advertising gets out of hand early on. His humour has a serious point – the first few months of competition could set the tone (and regulatory mood) for years to come. Industry leaders in Sweden learned this the hard way in 2019 when a flood of TV commercials after market opening led to political calls for clampdowns. Finnish operators seem keen not to “kill the golden goose” by overdoing it in 2027.
Domestic stakeholders are also positioning for the new landscape. Veikkaus itself is undergoing a soul-searching transition. The company will effectively split its identity – maintaining its monopoly products on one hand, while possibly competing as just another licensed operator in betting and online casino on the other. There is precedent: Sweden’s former monopoly, Svenska Spel, still runs the lottery and land casinos but also launched a competitive online sportsbook and casino brand in the open market. We may see Veikkaus offering its online games under a similar dual structure, albeit likely with a new internal division or subsidiary to firewall the “competitive” business from its monopoly side (for governance and compliance reasons). The Finnish government has even floated the idea of partially privatising or corporatising parts of Veikkaus down the road, or at least spinning off its non-monopoly operations. For now, Veikkaus will be allowed to apply for online licences like any other company – meaning the once-untouchable giant will have to innovate and compete for players’ attention. This could be positive for Finnish consumers: Veikkaus has a well-known brand and a network of retail outlets, but its digital offerings have sometimes lagged behind flashy international rivals. Competition is a forcing function for improvement.
Another opportunity lies in new partnerships and service industries. Local entrepreneurs, media companies, or even sports teams may team up with foreign operators to launch Finnish-licensed platforms. We might, for instance, see a Finnish media conglomerate lend its brand to a betting site powered by a UK or Maltese partner. Likewise, affiliate marketing firms and fintech companies could find growth in Finland’s newly opened market – assuming the final law permits affiliates with appropriate regulation. Even the tech sector stands to gain: building the compliance tech, monitoring tools, and localisation for this market will create contracts for Finnish IT firms and consultancies.
However, the boon for business comes with a caveat: regulation in Finland will be stringent and actively enforced. The new gambling authority is expected to be a tough referee. Companies angling for a slice of Suomi’s gambling pie will need to invest in compliance staff, Finnish-language customer support, and contributions to responsible gambling programs. The government has made it clear that licenses can and will be revoked if operators flout the rules on advertising or customer safety. Unlike grey-market operations that might simply withdraw if pressured, these licensed operators will have reputations at stake in multiple jurisdictions. In that sense, Finland is counting on the typical licensed operator to behave far better than the typical unlicensed one.
The market structure post-2027 will be interesting to watch. In Denmark’s open model, a handful of big brands captured the lion’s share of online play, but smaller niche sites also thrive. In Sweden, consolidation happened quickly after liberalisation, with larger firms buying up smaller ones. Finland could likewise see an initial wave of new brands, followed by mergers or exits as the competitive dust settles. With a population of 5.5 million, Finland won’t support dozens upon dozens of profitable online casinos – there will be winners and losers. Yet even a 5% market share in Finland could mean tens of millions in revenue, attractive enough for many mid-tier companies to try their luck.
The Road Ahead
As Finland edges closer to ending one of Europe’s last gambling monopolies, it’s navigating a well-trodden path – but with its own twists. The reform bill is expected to pass with cross-party support (barring any unexpected political hurdles), given that even opposition voices recognise the leakage problem. The timeline suggests that by late 2025, the law could be approved and the infrastructure (new regulator, licensing processes) set up through 2026. Finnish gamblers likely won’t notice any immediate difference until the day the first licensed competitors launch – and even then, the transition might feel subtle: many are already playing on these sites, only now they’ll be legal and perhaps sporting a Finnish flag icon on their webpage footer indicating local licensure.
The real effects will unfold over several years. Will channelisation indeed surge above 80% as hoped, meaning most players migrate to the Finnish-licensed sites? Will problem gambling rates hold steady, decline, or rise? How will Veikkaus reinvent itself, and will the government grow to prefer steady tax income from many operators over the all-eggs-in-one-basket approach of the monopoly? These questions make Finland a fascinating case study in gambling regulation.
One thing is certain: the Finnish gambling landscape in 2030 will look very different from today’s. Players will have more choice and, ideally, better protection; operators will have new opportunities but also new responsibilities; and the government will play the dual role of promoter and policeman in the gambling arena. As Minister Rantanen put it, the goal is an equilibrium – a market open enough to entice players away from shady offshore games, yet controlled enough to keep gambling harm in check. Striking that balance is Finland’s next big game. The rest of Europe – especially those in countries still weighing monopoly vs. licensing models – will be watching closely to see if this Nordic experiment hits the jackpot or reveals further challenges in the ever-evolving bet between public good and private interest in gambling.