After maintaining a national gambling monopoly for over twenty years, Finland is finally ready to say goodbye. As the diversion rate falls below 50% and the revenue contribution from the state-owned giant Veikkaus is halved, this Nordic country is steadily moving towards Europe's latest licensing market. Although the legislative process may experience slight delays due to political concerns, global operators have already been eager, forming teams and devising strategies, ready to embrace this small but symbolically significant new battlefield.
The monopoly is unsustainable, reform is imperative
Finland once believed that a state-owned operator could maximize revenue, minimize harm, and eliminate the black market. However, by 2022, this logic had completely collapsed. Data shows that the legal market's diversion rate is less than half, and Veikkaus's annual revenue submitted to the state has been halved compared to 2017. Even the opposition can't find reasons to oppose the reform—because Veikkaus itself expressed in 2022 that it no longer wanted this monopoly. As industry insiders say, "The current system has completely failed to achieve its designed purpose."
Legislative process and political swings: possible slight delays
Technically, the reform bill is nearing the finish line. The Parliamentary Administrative Committee is expected to complete its report by mid-December, followed by two plenary sessions for approval, with the original goal of having the new law take effect on January 1, 2026. However, political considerations have introduced variability in the timeline. Decision-makers worry that an increase in gambling advertisements before the parliamentary elections (April 2025) might trigger a public backlash. Therefore, there is discussion about delaying the market opening from the originally scheduled January 2027 to after the summer elections of 2027. However, most observers believe this to be "a brief delay of a few weeks or months," with no doubts about the direction of the reform.
Inadequate regulatory preparation and lack of enforcement tools
Compared to the clear political consensus, there is much less confidence in whether regulatory agencies can be in place in time. The new regulatory body will belong to a regional administrative agency responsible for animal welfare, alcohol licensing, and other matters, most of whose personnel lack experience in the gambling industry. More critically, there is a severe lack of enforcement tools. The bill does not include key countermeasures such as payment blocking or website blocking, partly because the existence of the Åland autonomous region complicates national blocking measures. Some experts pessimistically predict: "I foresee nothing but enforcement challenges." An ironic outcome might even occur: since licensed operators are the most visible and cooperative, most enforcement actions might ironically fall on them. The Finnish Gambling Association also warns that if regulation only focuses on licensed companies, unlicensed operators will have little incentive to consider entering the legal market.
Operators actively plan, optimistic about long-term prospects
Despite regulatory gray areas and timing uncertainties, operators are generally optimistic and proactive. The General Manager of FDJ/Kindred for Finland and Estonia said: "The big picture looks quite good." The main limiting factor is the uncertainty of the schedule, "It would be better for our planning if the timetable could be finalized sooner." Meanwhile, operators like Hippos ATG are already in full preparation, setting up local teams in Helsinki and recruiting product, marketing, and customer service experts. Their model is unique: every euro of profit will be reinvested into the Finnish and Swedish horse racing industries—a value proposition that other operators cannot offer.
(Further reading: For more information on global gambling regulatory policy evolution and market access analysis, follow the PASA official website for industry reports and insights.)
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original deep channel for gambling: https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
