Veikkaus announces further restructuring
The state gambling operator continues to prepare for the liberalisation of Finland’s market.
Finland.- The state-controlled monopoly gambling operator Veikkaus has announced a further restructuring of its organisation as it advances with preparations for the opening for liberalisation of gambling in Finland from July 2027. The latest changes will see 15 roles eliminated and 17 new positions created across several parts of the business.
The changes affect two business units, the Data & AI division and finance teams. Discussions concerning the affected roles and new appointments are expected to continue for around three weeks.
The reorganisation of Veikkaus is intended to strengthen the operator as it prepares to face competition in the online segment. While one of its two new subsidiaries will maintain a monopoly of the Finnish lottery and land-based betting activity, the online business will compete with other operators. The National Police Board opened the licensing process on March 1 and reported that it had received around 50 applications for Finnish online gambling licences by mid-June.
Veikkaus has already overhauled its leadership structure. In August, it removed the deputy chief executive role while appointing Chris Armes as executive vice president of Gaming Technologies. The operator has also implemented a series of technology and operational upgrades. These include migrating its sportsbook platform from DraftKings technology to OpenBet.
There has been speculation over whether Finland will sell Veikkaus, or part of it. However, there are stark political divisions on how these companies should be controlled going forward. As part of the new regime, Veikkaus has committed to paying market-based compensation for its exclusive businesses, estimated at around €1bn over a 10-year licence period. The operator has also taken another step towards the competitive era by joining the Finnish Gambling Association, the industry body that has long advocated for the liberalisation of Finland’s gambling market.
Veikkaus first-half performance
For the first half of 2026, Veikkaus’ sales increased by 1 per cent year-on-year to €471.3m, while operating profit rose from €220.6m to €227.7m. Profit for the period reached €234.2m, compared with €229.6m in the corresponding period last year.
Veikkaus said the performance was driven by continued growth in its digital business. Online gross gaming revenue accounted for 64.5 per cent of total revenue, an increase of 3.6 percentage points from the previous year. The operator also reported growth in its customer base, with registered users up by 50,000 to around 2,672,000 by the end of June.
Lottery and land-based gaming generated €317.9m in gross gaming revenue during the first half, almost unchanged from the same period in 2025. However, revenue from slot machines and physical table games fell from €71.3m to €63.4m, which Veikkaus attributed primarily to a smaller retail footprint and a reduction in the number of gaming machines.
Betting and iCasino revenue increased from €146.5m to €151.6m,largely driven by the online casino segment, where an expanded game portfolio and a rapidly growing live casino offering boosted performance. International operations also recorded strong growth through Fennica Gaming, Veikkaus’ B2B subsidiary. Revenue rose by 80.6 per cent to €10.3m, up from €5.7m in the previous year.
The expansion was fuelled by the rollout of eInstants and iCasino products in several jurisdictions, including Canada, Italy, parts of Germany, Mexico, the Czech Republic and Iceland. Veikkaus said Fennica Gaming now operates across 21 markets. The company also secured a UAE online supplier licence last year.
