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Finland has confirmed the core shape of its post-monopoly gambling system, outlining a dual-licence framework that will open the country’s online betting and casino market to private operators from 1 January 2027.
Under the government proposal HE 16/2025, now before Parliament, regulators will create separate B2C and B2B licence tracks, split state-owned Veikkaus into two companies, and introduce a new supervisory authority to oversee the competitive online sector.
From monopoly to a licence model
The reform marks the end of Finland’s long-running exclusive model, under which Veikkaus has been the sole authorised gambling operator. Lawmakers and officials argue that the monopoly no longer works in an online era, with more than half of Finns’ digital gambling spend now flowing to offshore sites that fall outside national controls.
Interior minister Mari Rantanen said the goal is to pull that activity back into a regulated environment without undermining consumer protections.
“The goal has been to find a regulatory solution where measures to prevent gambling harm are balanced with the willingness of gambling companies to apply for a licence, and where online gambling is directed to regulated offerings,: Rantanen said when presenting the proposal.
The new Gambling Act would initially cover online casino games and online betting. Land-based lotteries, physical slot machines, and the Casino Helsinki properties will remain under an exclusive licence held by a restructured Veikkaus subsidiary.
Two licence tracks: B2C and B2B
Operators that wish to offer online betting or casino products to Finnish players will apply for five-year B2C “gambling game” licences. Those licences will carry a 22% tax on gross gaming revenue, with application windows expected to open in early 2026 for a 2027 go-live.
A second track will cover suppliers. Any company that provides games or platforms to licensed operators will need a B2B “game software” licence. That requirement will phase in later: applications will open in 2027, with full compliance mandatory from 1 January 2028. From that date, operators may only use content from approved software licensees.
Industry advisers note that this B2B layer goes further than many European regimes, bringing studios, platform providers, and data suppliers under direct Finnish oversight and adding a new due diligence step for brands entering the market.
Veikkaus to be split, not sidelined
To satisfy EU competition rules, Veikkaus will be divided into at least two legally distinct companies within a single group. One entity will retain a 10-year monopoly over lottery products, retail slot machines, and land-based casinos. The second will compete for online betting and casino revenue on the same terms as private operators, paying the same 22% GGR tax and applying for licences under the new act.
Veikkaus’s leadership has publicly acknowledged that this shift is necessary. As early as 2022, CEO Olli Sarekoski warned that if the company’s declining online market share could not be stabilised, Finland would “have to start thinking about bringing all gambling under the same regulatory regime.”
After a government-commissioned study confirmed significant leakage to unregulated sites, Sarekoski described the analysis as “good and balanced” and urged that, if Finland was moving towards a licence system, “this change happens faster rather than slowly.”
Veikkaus has since begun reorganising ahead of the 2027 launch, with an explicit ambition to remain the country’s leading gambling brand in an open market rather than as a monopoly incumbent.
New supervisory authority and stricter marketing rules
Licensing and day-to-day supervision of the new online market will sit with a dedicated gambling unit inside the forthcoming Permit and Supervision Agency, replacing the current shared responsibilities between the Ministry of the Interior and the National Police Board. The authority will be funded in part by industry supervision fees.
The reform dovetails with broader changes to Finland’s gambling-advertising law. Lawmakers have already backed the first major overhaul of marketing rules in years, including a planned “whistle-to-whistle” ban on gambling ads during live sports broadcasts and new guidance for so-called “gamefluencers” who stream casino and betting content to younger audiences on platforms such as Twitch.
Separately, a national Gambling Policy Programme under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is being updated to expand treatment, reduce stigma, and better integrate gambling-related harm into mainstream health and social services.
Harm reduction versus channelisation
Officially, the government lists two primary goals: to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm, and to improve the “channelling rate” – the share of gambling that happens on services regulated and supervised in Finland.
A study by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority concluded that a licensing model can raise the channelling rate if set up correctly, but warned that liberalisation alone does not guarantee less harm or higher state revenue. “Responsibility measures remain ineffective without a sufficiently high channelling rate,” senior adviser Joel Karjalainen noted, arguing that safeguards only work if most play takes place on regulated sites.
The Social Affairs and Health Committee has echoed that concern in its opinion on HE 16/2025, cautioning that a more accessible online market could increase problem gambling unless limits, data-driven monitoring, and affordability checks are robust.
What operators and suppliers should expect
The Ministry of the Interior has indicated that operators can expect detailed requirements on customer identification, centralised self-exclusion, real-time data reporting, and risk-based intervention for high-intensity play.
Marketing will be limited to “moderate” promotion aimed at adults, with strong restrictions on bonuses and cross-border targeting from .com sites into Finland.
For suppliers, the game software licence will seek to introduce direct accountability. Studios and platform providers will need to show technical compliance and a clean enforcement record in other jurisdictions. The Ministry has already signalled that companies that continue to target Finnish players illegally before 2028 could find themselves shut out of the licensed B2B system later.
Source: GlobeNewsWire
