Why is it so hard to get everything right in Finland? 

In October 2023, Finland officially initiated a legislative reform project to replace its current gambling monopoly model with a partial licensing system.  

The first draft law, which was published in July 2024, proposes the B2C licensing application process will begin in 2026, with licensees allowed to operate in the Finnish market from 2027. 

B2B licensing will commence in 2027 and, starting in the beginning of 2028, licensed B2C operators will be required to use only licensed B2B providers. Introducing a schedule for B2B licensing at this early stage was somewhat unexpected but generally well received. 

In terms of products, fixed-odds betting, pari-mutuel betting, online casino games, online bingo and online slots will transition to the licensed system, while all other products will remain under Veikkaus’ exclusive rights. 

The tax rate is set at 22% of GGR. There will also be a revenue-based annual supervision fee, effectively serving as an additional tax ranging between 0.5% and 1% of GGR for most B2C operators. It’s a fixed fee of €1,500 for B2Bs. Although not yet published, the fee is expected to be very modest. 

A new licensing and supervisory authority will be established from scratch, with enhanced powers. Supervisory tools will include criminal sanctions, licence revocation, various fines, PSP and ISP blocking systems and the authority to order the removal of online content. 

In addition to the more or less standard eligibility criteria, applicants that have received a prohibition order from the supervisory authority in the five years preceding their licence application will not be eligible to obtain a licence. 

So, a nice try but will it suffice? Challenges regarding enforceability against black-market operators are to be expected, and it remains to be seen how long it will take for the new authority to pick up the pace and establish good practices.

The new licensing system will include significant marketing restrictions. Most notably, all forms of bonuses, campaigns and offers are prohibited, plus the use of third parties, including traditional affiliate sites, in marketing will be banned.

Sponsorship will be allowed with certain restrictions, while regulations on marketing in traditional media will remain relatively liberal. 

These marketing restrictions are problematic not only in achieving a high channelisation rate but also because they tend to favour operators that have already gained a significant market share and customer base in Finland – many through prohibited marketing practices. It is somewhat questionable for the legislature to appear to reward past infringements.

Before its publication, several politicians expressed dissatisfaction with the draft, acknowledging that political groups were not fully satisfied with its contents. But it was deemed necessary to publish the draft to stay on schedule.

For this reason, it is anticipated that more changes will be made to the draft than is usually the case. These changes will indeed be necessary; otherwise, hopes of achieving over 90% channelisation may need to be abandoned altogether. 

The Finnish gambling market is attractive, as per capita gambling losses are among the highest in Europe, which justifies the relatively high overall cost set for the licences.

But many operators have expressed well-founded concerns that banning bonuses and traditional affiliates will give black-market operators too much of an advantage, thereby undermining the channelisation rate. 

This, combined with supervisory tools that have clear enforceability issues against black-market operators, is a challenge the legislature must address.

Antti Koivula is an igaming lawyer at Legal Gaming Attorneys at Law. His specialist areas include EU law, licensing, risk assessments and contracts. Before joining Legal Gaming, he spent 12 years as a professional sports bettor, working with sports betting syndicates and cooperating with the Finnish Centre for Integrity in Sports on match-fixing issues.