ATG forms joint venture with Suomen Hippos to offer online gambling in Finland
The Swedish operator is preparing for the opening of the Finnish gambling market.
Finland.- The Swedish horseracing betting operator AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) has formed a joint venture (JV) with the Finnish equestrian association Suomen Hippos ahead of anticipated gambling reforms in Finland. The unnamed JV plans to offer online sports and racing betting alongside igaming in Finland’s competitive gambling market, which is expected to open by January 2027.
The joint venture will be headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, and ownership of the JV will be equally divided between ATG and Suomen Hippos. Profits will be distributed at 40 per cent to ATG and 60 per cent to Suomen Hippos, including for reinvestment into Finland’s racing industry.
Suomen Hippos CEO Minna Mäenpää expressed optimism about the venture, emphasising its potential to responsibly influence the future of the horse industry. She highlighted the importance of Nordic cooperation in trotting.
She said: “We believe that our new joint Finnish company gives us the best opportunity to actively and responsibly influence the future of the horse industry. Nordic trotting cooperation will be even more important in the future, and this solution strengthens our ability to develop the sport and the operating conditions of the horse industry further.”
ATG’s Finnish operations manager Mikael Bäcke said: “Changes in the betting licensing market mean that Finnish horse breeding and trotting will in the future receive an equal share of betting revenues from both Veikkaus and their new own betting company through data and image agreements.”
The collaboration comes amid Finland’s move to liberalise its online gambling sector. The government has already presented the new Finnish Gambling Act to parliament. It’s expected to be passed in the summer and come into effect in January 2027.
If enacted, the legislation will allow private operators to offer online betting and casino services, as well as horse racing, which was added to the bill in November, while state-owned Veikkaus will retain a monopoly over lotteries, scratchcards, and physical gaming machines. Veikkaus will establish a separate business to compete in the online sector. ATG had been negotiating a possible partnership with state-owned Veikkaus but negotiations ended in March.
The government hopes to open the window for Finland gambling licence applications on January 1 2026. The market would open 12 months later on January 1 2027, although some suggest that the launch could come earlier. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo of the centre-right National Coalition Party (NCP) believes the proposed reforms would improve player protection while increasing tax revenue from gambling.
