Today, the Finnish government announced that horse racing will enter a competitive licensing market along with other forms of gambling activities when Finland abolishes its monopoly and re-implements a regulated market in 2026.
Finland has revealed more details about the potential form of its new market. As part of the policy shift, the national budget will directly fund horse racing activities for breeding programs and consulting for race operators.
Additionally, the Finnish horse breeding center organization, Hippos ry, will receive funding to oversee the overall development of the horse racing industry and anti-doping measures.
According to government regulations, this policy update aims to reduce and eventually eliminate the country's gambling disadvantages by improving the channelization of the Finnish market. Now, operators wishing to enter the country can obtain competitive licenses for sports betting and online casinos, while the current monopoly operator Veikkaus will retain the rights to lotteries, gambling games, and physical casinos.
Worth noting: Last month, Kela announced plans to review the net proceeds related to Finnish gambling and social assistance.
The new legislative proposal is expected to be submitted to the European Commission and then to Parliament in the spring of 2025. Finland has set a goal to establish a fully regulated new market by January 1, 2026.
Following the EU regulatory authority's welcome of Finland's plan to introduce a new licensing system in October 2023, the country published a draft of the proposed licensing system law in July this year. Now, the latest update aims to further clarify the specifics of the country's new market.
