2025 © All rights reserved.
We use tracking cookies to understand how you use our website and to enhance your user experience. Accept to help us improve.
© Canva
In a landmark move, Finland’s government has introduced a gambling reform bill to Parliament, aiming to dismantle the state-owned Veikkaus monopoly and open the country’s online gambling market to private operators. The legislation, submitted on March 20, 2025, represents a significant step toward aligning Finland’s gambling framework with other European nations like Sweden and Denmark.
1. End of Veikkaus Monopoly:
The reform will end Veikkaus' exclusive control over online sports betting and digital casino games by late 2026. Private operators will be able to apply for licenses starting January 1, 2026, with the new system expected to be fully operational by early 2027. However, Veikkaus will retain exclusivity for lotteries, scratch cards, land-based slot machines, and physical casinos.
2. New Licensing System:
A licensing model will be introduced to allow private operators to offer regulated online gambling services. This aims to increase the channelization rate—redirecting players from unlicensed offshore platforms to legal operators—and ensure stronger consumer protections.
3. Creation of a Regulatory Authority:
A new Licensing and Supervision Authority will be established in 2026 to oversee licensing, compliance, marketing regulations, and harm prevention measures. It will take over from the National Police Board by 2027.
4. Consumer Protection Measures:
The bill includes mandatory identity verification for all gambling activities, a unified self-exclusion system across licensed platforms, real-time loss tracking, and financial limits to curb problem gambling.
5. Advertising Restrictions:
Marketing of high-risk gambling products like online slots will be prohibited in public spaces and near schools. Influencer marketing is also banned. Operators can promote their services only on their websites and social media under strict guidelines.
The Finnish government has emphasized that the reform aims to balance harm prevention with creating a competitive market structure. Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen stated: "The aim of the bill has been to find a regulatory solution in which combating gambling harms is balanced with encouraging companies to apply for licenses and directing online gambling toward regulated platforms."
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo also highlighted the need for reform to protect players better and ensure fair taxation of gaming revenues.
The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority noted that approximately 50% of Finnish online gambling expenditures currently go to unlicensed foreign operators. By opening the market, the government hopes to channel this spending into regulated frameworks.
Veikkaus has expressed support for the changes, acknowledging that competition could improve channelization rates while maintaining its monopoly on certain products.
The bill is now under review by parliamentary subcommittees. While some amendments may occur, broad political consensus suggests it could pass relatively quickly. Rahapeliala Ry CEO Mika Kuismanen believes the law could be approved by June 2025, though gaming lawyer Antti Koivula predicts a vote in autumn 2025.
If approved, licenses for private operators could be issued as early as January 2026.
This reform aligns Finland with other Nordic countries that have adopted similar licensing models. It also introduces measures aimed at reducing illegal gambling and ensuring better oversight of gaming revenues through corporate taxes and licensing fees.
By modernizing its gambling framework, Finland seeks not only to address gambling-related harm but also to create a more competitive and transparent market that benefits both players and operators.
Sources: Yogonet, Sisäministeriö, iGaming Business, LCB, Gaming Intelligence, Gambling Insider, Player Protection Hub
