Finland

How the market works

Finland reserves gambling to a single state-owned operator, with supervision by a unit of the National Police Board. As in every monopoly that coexists with an open internet, a substantial share of Finnish online play has gone to operators licensed elsewhere, which cannot be prevented and which has been the principal argument for reform.

Legislation to open online casino and betting to licensing has been carried through, with an application round preceding a licensed market from the start of 2027. Lotteries, land-based slot machines and some other products are intended to stay with the state operator, so the reform is a partial liberalisation rather than a full one.

Finland is therefore a market in transition. Current conditions describe a monopoly; the planning question for the industry is what the licensing terms, the tax rate and the marketing rules will look like, since those will determine whether the licensed sector actually captures the play that now goes offshore.

Who regulates it

National Police Board, Gambling Administration (Poliisihallitus), based in Riihimäki and operating under Lotteries Act. The Finnish supervisor of a gambling monopoly that is being replaced by a licensing system.

Licence types issued

• None at present: the domestic operator holds an exclusive right

Full profile of the Poliisihallitus