A gambling bill has been approved by Finland’s government, moving the country one step closer to reforming its gambling market for the arrival of commercially licensed operators.
A bipartisan 158-9 vote in favour of the proposals in Finland’s Parliament now sees the bill on course for implementation. To become law, the bill only needs the signature of the President.
Timeline
The commercial market will officially open in July 2027, with sports betting and online casino licences being issued in the meantime from March next year. However, Lotto, Eurojackpot and physical slot machines will remain under the state-owned Veikkaus monopoly.
Licensing decisions will be made by Finland’s National Police Board until June 2026, when regulatory responsibilities will be handed to the Licensing and Supervision Agency.
Also in July 2027, the process for B2B licences will begin, with a licence becoming a requirement for the market by July the following year.
To-do list
Finland continues to move towards becoming a commercially licensed market, but there are still components of the regulation that need attention.
Antti Koivula, Chief Compliance Officer at Hippos ATG, told iGaming Expert that secondary legislation will likely iron out matters such as game characteristics (e.g. autoplay, bonus buys), maximum stake levels, and game speed being determined, in additon to providing clarity on some of the most critical technical regulations that are still outstanding.
Veikkaus has also called for effective regulation from the authorities to stop illegal operators and the black market from thriving.
Velipekka Nummikoski, Deputy CEO of Veikkaus, noted: “It is important that the license market is attractive enough for companies to apply for a license. At the same time, it is also necessary to ensure that unauthorised supply is tackled effectively enough.
“If unauthorised gambling supply cannot be effectively prevented, there is a risk that the realisation of the channelling goal and the reduction of gambling harm will be made more difficult.”
Veikkaus future
Once the licensed market is launched in Finland, Veikkaus will no longer have a monopoly in the country, but more changes are also taking place.
Recently, Veikkaus held talks with 75 employees across three different functions. With the market becoming more saturated, the operator will discontinue 26 existing roles, while 22 new positions will be created and 20 employment relationships will be changed.
“Our strategic direction requires changes from us, which have now been implemented through these negotiations,” said Reija Laaksonen, EVP, People, Brand & Communications at Veikkaus.
“These decisions are always difficult from a human perspective, but they are necessary for Veikkaus’ future competitiveness.”
Maija Strandberg, Finland’s Director General of Ownership Steering, also mentioned recently that 2027 could see Veikkaus be publicly listed.