Finland begins re-regulation of gambling market

• The Finnish government is pressing on with a bill to re-regulate the gambling market
• Strict advertising rules will apply as operators start bidding for a license in 2026
• Health bodies caution that regulation isn’t tantamount to reducing gambling-related harm

Finland has now embarked on a long-debated ambitious plan to re-regulate its gambling market and open it to independent commercial licenses. The first step in this process is the submission of a new bill to the country’s parliament which will see the breaking of the monopoly that Veikkaus, the state-owned gambling giant, has on the market.

Veikkaus’ monopoly to be replaced by a license-based model

According to the bill, Veikkaus will be dismantled at the end of 2026 and replaced by a license-based model where international gambling operators will be able to apply for the right to offer gambling products locally. This comes after intense debates about the country’s future regarding its gambling industry.

It’s estimated that at least half of Finnish players are already playing at offshore websites, which are not registered in the country, meaning that a lot of tax money is leaking abroad. Furthermore, the use of foreign gambling websites comes with fewer player protections, which has raised concerns about gambling addiction.

The government hopes to create a regulated industry that will help protect the population against gambling harms as well as boost the revenue to the state’s coffers. However, health experts have cautioned that legalizing the gambling industry and allowing certain forms of advertisement was not going to have the desired impact and was not in fact going to reduce gambling-related harms.

The reforms offered by the bill are still subject to final approval by lawmakers, but the idea behind the bill is simple enough – pry away the monopoly away from Veikkaus and replace it with numerous other gambling firms that meet a pre-determined set of criteria aligned with European legislation and the best industry practices.

Companies regulated under this new mandate will be able to offer online casino games of chance, although Veikkaus will not be completely nudged out of the market. The firm will still be the exclusive provider of scratch cards and lottery tickets, remaining entrenched in these particular verticals.

Finland bakes safeguards into new gambling regulation to shield consumers

The new law is also planned to ensure that consumers are protected by issuing strict criteria about certain marketing practices. Advertising by popular influencers and personalities, for example, will be prohibited, with the country emulating similar measures adopted by other jurisdictions, including the Netherlands.

Physical advertising of those gaming products considered to carry the highest risk of addiction will also be restricted as Finland seeks to protect consumers. The new industry will also come with a detailed breakdown of how much players can deposit every month, although the new regulatory regime will not monitor explicitly for losses.

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