Finland Ends Veikkaus Monopoly: 41 Operators Race for 2027
Finland scraps the EU's last gambling monopoly in July 2027. 41 operators have already filed, facing a 22% tax, a total bonus ban, and an affiliate blackout.
Table of Contents▼
Finland Ends the Veikkaus Monopoly – 41 Licence Applications Filed for the July 2027 Market Open
Finland's new Gambling Act cleared Parliament on 16 December 2025, the licensing window opened on 1 March 2026, and 24 operators filed inside the first month. By late May 2026 the National Police Board had received 41 applications in total. On 1 July 2027, the last exclusive online-gambling monopoly in the EU disappears and a licensed market runs in its place. We tracked the law, the tax, and the rules that make this reform unlike Sweden's.
Timeline – From Political Fatigue to Statutory Reform
Veikkaus was built out of three predecessors. The modern Veikkaus brand traces to 1940; the slot-machine operator RAY launched in 1938; the horse-racing operator Fintoto rounded out the set. Parliament fused all three into a single state-owned entity in 2017 and gave it statutory exclusivity over every gambling vertical in mainland Finland.
Channelisation started slipping almost immediately. A decade ago the licensed share sat around 90%. By 2024 it was closer to 50%, with roughly €780 million to €900 million of Finnish online spend reaching unlicensed operators every year. Only about 22% of iGaming activity stayed inside the regulated perimeter. The monopoly was losing the market it was supposed to protect.
The Petteri Orpo government committed to reform in mid-2023. A first draft Act followed in 2024. Parliament (Eduskunta) passed the final text on 16 December 2025 and the President gave assent on 16 January 2026. Framework provisions commenced on 1 January 2026. The National Police Board opened applications on 1 March 2026.
Finland was the last EU member state running an exclusive online gambling monopoly. The 2025 Act retires it without killing Veikkaus – the company keeps lotteries, land-based slots, and Casino Helsinki, and competes for the rest.
The Applicant Race – 24 in Month One, 41 by May 2026
The National Police Board (Poliisihallitus) confirmed 24 licence applications in the first month of the window. By late May 2026 the running total had climbed to 41 applications. Processing runs three to six months per application; first grants are still expected in Q4 2026. Industry analysts at SBC and iGB expect 40 to 50 live licensees by the 1 July 2027 launch – a figure the market is already on track to hit.
Confirmed applicants include Entain, Flutter Entertainment, Kindred Group, LeoVegas (MGM Resorts International), and Betsson. The full roster has not been published. Kindred's interim CEO Nils Andén framed reform as a safer-gambling milestone; Entain's North & Central Europe MD Dainis Niedra predicted smaller brands would lead the opening-phase marketing push with heavy TV and outdoor spend.
The application window stays open indefinitely – a deliberate design choice that avoids the "cut-off queue" problems seen in Sweden's 2019 opening and in Germany's 2021 GGL transition. Operators can apply at any point before or after launch.
The Tax Stack – 22% GGR, Tiered Supervision
The headline number is a 22% flat GGR tax on licensed online casino, online slots, online bingo, and fixed-odds and pari-mutuel betting. The comparison stack for EU operators:
- Finland (from 2027): 22% GGR
- Sweden: 22% GGR
- Denmark: 28% GGR
- Netherlands: 34.2% in 2025, 37.8% from 1 January 2026
- UK (from 1 April 2026): 40% Remote Gaming Duty
The UK sits at the punishing end of that stack, and how the UK's 40% Remote Gaming Duty reshapes operator margins shows why Finland's 22% looks generous by comparison.
Fees sit on top of the GGR rate. Application fee is €29,000, amendment fee €1,120, and annual supervision fees run on a sliding scale from €4,000 for sub-€100,000 GGR operators up to €434,000 for operators above €50 million GGR. The tiering matters – it caps the small-operator burden that Sweden's flat-fee approach created, while still pulling meaningful revenue from the top of the market.
Our coverage of Europe's 2026 regulatory shifts places Finland mid-stack on headline tax but lower than Denmark or the Netherlands on effective cost. That matters for margin modelling inside the first licensed year.
What Veikkaus Keeps and Where It Now Competes
Veikkaus retains exclusivity over lotteries, scratch cards, land-based slot machines, land-based casino games at Casino Helsinki and Casino Tampere, retail pools, and retail pari-mutuel on horse racing. Those verticals are statutorily ring-fenced.
The market opens for online casino, online slots, online e-bingo, online fixed-odds betting, and online pari-mutuel betting. Veikkaus will compete as a licensed operator alongside the international groups in every one of those verticals. Its 2024 revenue was €956.2 million, down 7.3% year on year, with operating profit down 19.6% to €466.8 million. The 2025 figures continued the slide: revenue of €936.3 million (-2.4%), operating profit down 6.5% to €431.6 million, and net profit of €447.2 million (-5.2%) – results that still edged past Veikkaus's own internal targets. Digital channels now account for 61% of Finnish gaming revenue, and registered customers reached 2.7 million. H1 2025 showed Veikkaus market share slipping to roughly 48% – competing against offshore brands even before the legal competition arrives.
Veikkaus revenue fell again in 2025 to €936.3 million (-2.4%) before a single competitor went live. The state operator enters the licensed market from a weaker position each year, which is exactly why the reform's harm-reduction rules matter so much to its survival.
The Åland Islands sit outside this framework. PAF (Ålands Penningautomatförening), founded 1966, retains its own regional monopoly under Åland's autonomy statute. PAF also continues to operate online, on cruise ships, and in selected foreign markets, unaffected by the mainland reform.
The Bonus Ban – Sweden's Mistake, Repeated
The Act prohibits all deposit bonuses, welcome bonuses, free-to-play promotions, discounted play, and bundled offers. This mirrors Sweden's most-criticised rule. Sweden's licensed online casinos now sit at 72% to 82% channelisation depending on whose methodology you trust – a collapse we documented in our Sweden channelisation report and one the BOS trade association has called "catastrophic."
The Finnish Ministry of the Interior went ahead with the same design. The reasoning is explicit: the Act is framed as harm-reduction first and market liberalisation second. Whether that survives contact with the 50% of Finnish players already comfortable with offshore brands is the open question.
Additional responsible-gambling rules stack on top of the bonus ban:
- Mandatory personal deposit, loss, and time limits set before first play
- No deposits permitted 00:00 to 06:00 on any player account
- Regular session-time notifications to the player
- Centralised national self-exclusion register
- Mandatory identity verification; no anonymous play
The overnight deposit blackout is unusual. Sweden, Denmark, and the UK run no direct equivalent. It reflects Finnish research linking late-night play to problem-gambling patterns, and it is the rule most likely to generate friction with international operators used to 24/7 deposit flows.
Advertising and the Affiliate Blackout
The advertising rules are the single biggest signal about Finland's market design. Advertising must be "moderate" and must not target minors or vulnerable groups. Influencer marketing is prohibited. Affiliate marketing is not permitted under the final text. Responsible-gambling disclosures are mandatory in every ad.
That is a structural change for any affiliate operation working .fi content today, and it shapes how we approach Finnish-market editorial. Brands licensed in Finland from July 2027 cannot work with affiliates for customer acquisition inside the Finnish perimeter. Acquisition happens through owned channels, paid media inside the moderate-advertising envelope, or not at all.
For readers evaluating operators that already hold Nordic licences, our work on how licensing frameworks compare covers how Finland's rule-set sits next to Sweden's SGA and Denmark's Spillemyndigheden. The Finnish regime is closer to Sweden than Denmark on advertising and bonuses but closer to Denmark on tax.
An affiliate ban plus a bonus ban plus an overnight deposit blackout is a harm-reduction design, not an acquisition-friendly design. The offshore share will fall only if enforcement against unlicensed operators is substantially tougher than Sweden's has been.
The Regulator Transition – Police Board to Luova
Finland launched a new super-agency, Lupa- ja valvontavirasto (Finnish Supervisory Agency, "Luova"), on 1 January 2026. Luova absorbed Valvira plus roughly 2,000 staff from regional agencies. It is one of the largest single regulatory consolidations in Finnish state history.
Gambling oversight does not transfer immediately. The National Police Board (Poliisihallitus) stays the licensing and supervisory authority through 30 June 2027, processing applications and drafting secondary regulations. Full gambling oversight transfers to Luova on 1 July 2027, aligned with the market launch.
The operational question is capacity. Luova inherits gambling supervision alongside health, alcohol, environment, and social-welfare mandates. The National Police Board ran a narrower brief with specialist staff. Whether Luova can enforce the affiliate ban and the offshore blocking regime at volume – without the dedicated gambling-supervisor model used in Sweden or the Netherlands – is the first thing we will be tracking from 2027.
The Market the Act Is Trying to Recapture
H2 Gambling Capital puts Finland's 2026 total GGR at roughly €1.9 billion – €1.1 billion in gaming, €456 million in lottery, €269 million in betting. About 81% of that runs online. H1 2025 total Finnish GGR came in at €970 million, essentially flat year on year, with Veikkaus losing share to offshore competitors quarter after quarter.
The offshore share is the story. Roughly 50% of Finnish online spend now reaches unlicensed operators – somewhere between €780 million and €900 million annually. Only about 22% of iGaming stays inside the regulated perimeter. The Act's success will be measured against Denmark's 90%+ channelisation, not Sweden's falling 72%.
Finland aims for Danish-style channelisation with Swedish-style product rules. Those two goals pull in opposite directions. Denmark permits bonuses and allows affiliate marketing; Finland bans both. The policy bet is that deep brand preference for Veikkaus plus strong offshore enforcement can close the gap anyway.
Comparison – Finland vs Sweden vs Denmark
| Dimension | Finland (from 2027) | Sweden (2019–) | Denmark (2012–) |
|---|---|---|---|
| GGR tax | 22% | 22% | 28% |
| Bonus offers | Prohibited | One welcome bonus allowed | Permitted |
| Affiliate marketing | Prohibited | Permitted | Permitted |
| Influencer marketing | Prohibited | Restricted | Permitted with RG rules |
| Overnight deposit blackout | 00:00–06:00 | None | None |
| Deposit/loss/time limits | Mandatory, player-set | Mandatory, player-set | Mandatory, player-set |
| Self-exclusion | Central national register | Spelpaus | ROFUS |
| Primary regulator | Luova (from 2027) | SGA (Spelinspektionen) | Spillemyndigheden |
| Current channelisation | ~50% | Online casino 72–82% | 90%+ |
| Application window | Rolling, no close date | Initial cut-off then rolling | Rolling |
What We're Watching Between Now and July 2027
Three variables will decide whether Finland's opening works.
First, the affiliate-ban enforcement. If Luova takes the Swedish approach of chasing offshore operators with limited resources, the ban will be informal. If it follows the Italian or Spanish model – payment-provider blocking plus DNS-level enforcement – the licensed share can climb. Italy's ADM has shown what tough enforcement looks like; Sweden has shown what soft enforcement produces.
Second, the bonus-ban arithmetic. Sweden's one-bonus rule left offshore competitors with a permanent acquisition edge. Finland's zero-bonus rule makes that gap wider. Offshore brands holding Curaçao or the Anjouan licences that offshore brands still rely on will keep offering 200-spin packages to Finnish-speaking players; licensed brands cannot match that. The question is whether payment-blocking closes the loop.
Third, the Veikkaus transition. A state operator moving from monopolist to competitor is rare. Danske Spil managed it in Denmark; Svenska Spel managed it in Sweden. Both kept meaningful market share but neither stayed dominant. Veikkaus is starting from a weaker position than either – 48% share with revenue already falling. The first four quarters under competition will tell us whether the public-mission brand holds against Entain, Flutter, and Kindred.
For our framework on how licensing structures feed into operator trust and brand rankings, see the ClearCasinos Trust & Licensing methodology.
FAQ
When does Finland's online gambling monopoly actually end?
The legal framework commenced on 1 January 2026. Licence applications opened 1 March 2026. The licensed market goes live and Veikkaus's online exclusivity ends on 1 July 2027. Until then, Veikkaus is the only operator that can legally offer online casino, slots, and betting to Finnish residents.
What tax will licensed operators pay?
A flat 22% of gross gaming revenue, matching Sweden's rate. Operators also pay a €29,000 application fee and tiered annual supervision fees from €4,000 to €434,000 based on GGR.
Can licensed Finnish casinos offer welcome bonuses?
No. The Act prohibits all deposit bonuses, welcome bonuses, free-to-play offers, discounted play, and bundled offers. This is stricter than Sweden's one-bonus rule and matches no other EU regime currently in force.
Is affiliate marketing allowed for Finnish-licensed operators?
No. Affiliate marketing is not permitted under the final text of the Act. Influencer marketing is also prohibited. Acquisition must happen through owned channels and paid advertising that meets the "moderate" standard.
What happens to Veikkaus after 2027?
Veikkaus keeps exclusivity over lotteries, scratch cards, land-based slot machines, Casino Helsinki, Casino Tampere, retail pools, and retail pari-mutuel on horse racing. It will compete for online casino, slots, bingo, and betting alongside licensed international operators. Veikkaus 2025 revenue was €936.3 million, down 2.4% year on year (after a 7.3% drop in 2024), so the company enters competition with revenue already falling.
Does the reform apply to the Åland Islands?
No. PAF (Ålands Penningautomatförening) retains its regional monopoly under Åland's autonomy statute and continues to operate online, on cruise ships, and in selected foreign markets.
Sources
- Finnish Government – Gambling system reform overview – official policy statement
- Ministry of the Interior – Reform of the gambling system – project page and timeline
- Finnish Police – Gambling licence applications open – National Police Board announcement
- Valvira – New Supervisory Agency launches 1.1.2026 – Luova transition
- iGaming Business – Finland iGaming bill passes parliament – parliamentary passage
- iGaming Business – Finland in focus: licensing window opens – applicant count
- iGaming Business – Veikkaus 2024 results (-7.3%) – state operator financials
- EGBA – Finland welcomes step towards gambling reform – industry commentary
- Hannes Snellman – Tax implications and service-provider challenges – legal analysis
- Bird & Bird – Finland ending its online gambling monopoly in 2027 – statutory framework
- Nordia Law – Entering Finland's new iGaming market – operator readiness
- SBC News – Finland true liberalisation analysis – policy critique
- Veikkaus 2024 Annual and Sustainability Report – audited financials