Date set for Finnish online gambling opening as reforms win legislative approval
Applications for online gambling licences in Finland will open within months.
Finland.- The Finnish parliament has overwhelmingly backed legislation to end the state monopoly over gambling in Finland. The Finnish Gambling Act received 158 out of 200 votes in favour and only eight against at its second reading.
Introduced to the Eduskunta in March, the legislation will replace the monopoly of Veikkaus over online gambling with a multi-licence framework. The state-owned operator will be split in two. One part will continue to operate a monopoly over land-based gaming and Finland’s National Lottery, while the other will compete against commercial licensed operators in online betting and gaming.
The proposed legislation received approval largely in its original form after the rejection of amendments proposed by opposition parties. These included a proposal to raise the minimum gambling age from 18 to 20, a ban on advertising and bonuses and an increase in the tax rate from 22 per cent to 25.5 per cent of gross gaming revenue. These were overwhelmingly rejected.
Speaking during the bill’s second reading, Juha Hänninen of the National Coalition Party, argued that the Administration Committee, on which she sits, had “made the necessary additions to the proposal.
He insisted that Veikkaus’s current monopoly “no longer reflects reality” as so much gambling in Finland occurs online through foreign operators who don’t comply with local rules or taxes.
“The implementation of gambling will now be clearly linked to a system subject to licensing,” Hänninen said. “Gaming companies will be required to have a license, and gambling will require identification.”
The launch date for competitive regulated online gambling in Finland is expected to be July 1 2027, six months later than the previous target of January 1. The market will be overseen by a Licensing and Supervision Agency, which will replace the National Police Board as the body responsible for gambling regulation in Finland. Licence applications will open on March 1 2026.
Hopes for improved channelisation to regulated gambling
Veikkaus itself has largely welcomed the legislative reforms. It began preparing for them over a year ago and has already carried out significant staffing changes. It notes that channelisation rates are well below the government’s target of 90 per cent.
Deputy CEO Velipekka Nummikoski commented: “We have been waiting for a model that improves the possibilities of channeling gambling to a licensed offering. Veikkaus has not had a real monopoly on gambling in Finland for a long time. According to various estimates, up to €600-900m are gambled outside the official system annually.”
Other industry figures echoed this optimism, although some have expressed concern at lawmakers’ decision to ban affiliates.
Finnplay, a Helsinki-based compliance technology firm, described the legislative reforms as “the beginning of a major transformation.” Meanwhile, Jari Vähänen of Finnish Gambling Consultants Oy highlighted the potential of the market but noting that “Finns spend more money on gambling per capita than most countries”. He noted that the legislation covers a wide range of products that can be sold via digital and retail channels, and suggested there would be strong marketing opportunities in mass media and sponsorship.
Antti Koivula, chief compliance Officer at Hippos ATG, the new joint venture between Sweden’s ATG and the Finnish trotting body Suomen Hippos, joked on LinkedIn that he had won a friendly bet on the approval rate for the legislation among MPs, which reached 94.6 per cent.
He wrote in another post: “After years and years of monopoly reign, Finland finally steps into a new modern era. The law is not perfect, but it is a long awaited and meaningful step forward. Personally, I see this as a greatly positive turning point for Finland, and a strong foundation to build on going forward.
Opposition raises concerns about gambling advertising in Finland
The results of the second-reading vote show broad political support for the move to open Finland’s gambling market, with support from the governing parties the Finns, National Coalition, RKP, and KD, as well as many opposition MPs. However, some opposition parties continue to express concern, particularly about advertising.
Aino-Kaisa Pekonen of the Left Alliance, a former minister for health and social affairs, argued that “advertising normalises and makes gambling commonplace. It also instills a positive attitude towards gambling and encourages gambling.” She warned that advertising “increases gambling and risk-taking among gambling addicts” and makes it more difficult to abstain from gambling and causes relapses.”
Advertising has been an issue in other European countries that introduced market openings in recent years. After The Netherlands introduced regulated online gambling in 2021, an explosion of gambling ads prompted a public and political backlash, ultimately leading to a ban on non-targeted gambling ads two years later and then a ban on football sponsorship from this year.
While The Greens and Left Alliance have failed to secure advertising restrictions as part of Finland’s gambling reforms for now, they have suggested that they will seek to revisit the issue in future.
