The Finnish government has confirmed that its gambling monopoly has failed. With this announcement, it has announced its intent to shed its state-run monopoly in favour of a multi-license program by the start of 2026.
To date, the Veikkaus monopoly on gambling in Finland has been one of the last holdouts in the European Union. With the successful integration of multi-license online casino agreements worldwide, there has been a lot of data on increasing revenue generation and implementing practical safer gambling programs.
The government review said:
Quote“The goal of the reform is to prevent and reduce gambling caused health, economic and social harms and improve the gambling system degree of channelisation of the term.”
This groundswell of success and income potential has finally swayed the Finnish government into approving a reform of its long-held laws.
Countdown to the End of the Monopoly
In a review of the effectiveness and profitability of the monopoly under Veikkaus, the government had no choice but to admit that its channelisation rates were on a steady decline. According to their latest statistics, nearly 50% of all Finnish gamblers play at unlicensed online gambling sites in 2023.
The lower its channelisation rates, the less financially viable it became to maintain the monopoly, given that local gamblers spend their money at unlicensed offshore casinos. Estimates point to the state losing more than €500 million per year under the current model.
In response, the government announced that it had decided to bring an end to the state-run monopoly. They have, however, clarified that they would not be rushing the processing, saying:
Quote“The government still needs to work on the fine details of the overhaul but has already laid out an overview. There will be licenses available for online casinos and sports betting, with a mandatory and singular self-exclusion option as part of the licensing requirements. This is similar to how other gaming markets operate.”
The timeline they provided stated that it would come to an end by 1 January 2026 at the latest.
New Offshore Licensing Imminent
The plan is for the market to open to international offshore gambling companies. This would allow online casino and sports betting operators to offer games of chance to local players, advertise via local media outlets, and process transactions through local banking services.
Independent Finnish law firm Borenius commented on the role that Veikkaus will play in the newly opened market, saying:
Quote“Veikkaus Oy would retain its exclusive right within the scope of slot machines, physical casinos, brick-and-mortar betting, and lottery tickets, as well as lottery and raffle games regardless of the sales channel. Veikkaus will be divided into two separate legal entities, one operating in the field of monopoly services and the other in the licensed gambling market.”
The upcoming gambling review and newly minted legislation will address critical topics such as:
Finland has already begun limiting access to unlicensed gambling sites through IP restrictions and other measures through its partnership with the National Police Board of Finland. It will expand upon this foundation once its new Gambling Act is finalised.
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