Hippos ATG hires first senior executives
The new joint venture is preparing for the launch of regulated online gambling in Finland.
Finland.- Hippos ATG, the new joint venture between the Finnish horse racing body Hippos and Swedish betting operator ATG, has named its first senior executives as it prepares for the expected opening of the online gambling market in Finland from 2027.
Joonas Saha has been named as Hippos ATG’s chief commercial officer, and Antti Koivula has been appointed as chief compliance officer. CEO Mikael Bäcke said the hires represented a vital moment in establishing the venture’s operations in Finland.
Saha has worked in positions in media and telecommunications, including with the Finnish telecom provider Elisa. He’s also a referee in the top national ice hockey league.
Koivula has experience in gaming law and regulatory affairs, working with Legal Gaming Attorneys at Law to advise clients on licensing, compliance, and market entry strategies in Finnish gaming. He previously worked in sports betting focusing on horse racing.
Hippos ATG has already begun preparing its tech and products for the Finnish market. Currently, gambling in Finland remains the preserve of the state-run lottery operator Veikkaus, but the new Finnish Gambling Act entered parliament in May to prepare the way for a competitive regulated market.
It’s expected that Finland’s market will replicate many of the features of the regulatory frameworks of other western European gambling markets, including a national regulator and a self-exclusion register. The government has held up Denmark and Sweden as examples to follow.
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. That would depend on how long it takes for the bill to pass through parliament. It’s believed that there is broad support for market liberalisation, but there may be debate on some of the details.
The plan for Veikkaus is to split the operator in two, with one company retaining a monopoly over Finland’s national lottery and retail gambling while the other company will compete with private operators in the online sector.
