Is online gambling legal in Finland?
Until 30 June 2027 state-owned Veikkaus Oy holds the exclusive right to all gambling in mainland Finland under the Lotteries Act (1047/2001), supervised by the National Police Board, with payment blocking against blacklisted operators since 2023 and a ban on marketing by anyone else. Parliament adopted the new Gambling Act on 16 December 2025 and the President approved it on 16 January 2026. From 1 July 2027 betting, online casino and slot games and online money bingo open to holders of a five-year gambling licence taxed at 22% of gross gaming revenue, while lotteries, scratch cards and land-based machines stay exclusive to the Veikkaus group. Applications have been accepted since 1 March 2026 at EUR 29,000 each, and a new Finnish Supervisory Agency takes over on 1 July 2027.
| Vertical | Status in Finland |
|---|---|
| Online casino | Monopoly |
| Sports betting | Monopoly |
| Online poker | Monopoly |
| Lottery | Monopoly |
| Social casino (free to play) | Permitted |
State monopoly: A state or single licensee runs online gambling; private operators cannot be licensed.
Who regulates gambling in Finland?
- Poliisihallitus (National Police Board) (Poliisihallitus) — Supervises Veikkaus under the Lotteries Act and decides gambling licence applications under the new Gambling Act until 30 June 2027
- Lupa- ja valvontavirasto (Finnish Supervisory Agency) (LVV) — Licensing and supervisory authority for gambling and gambling software licences from 1 July 2027
- Sisäministeriö (Ministry of the Interior) (SM) — Prepared the Gambling Act and drafts the implementing decrees; the Ministry of Finance leads the implementation project
Finland gambling licence: how it works
The Gambling Act (10/2026) creates three licences: a gambling licence for betting, online casino and slot games and online money bingo; an exclusive licence for lotteries, scratch cards and physical slot machines and casino games, reserved to a state-controlled company (the Veikkaus group); and a gambling software licence for suppliers. Any natural or legal person meeting the fitness-and-propriety test in section 10 may apply; applicants established outside the EEA appoint an EEA representative. Applications have been accepted since 1 March 2026, in Finnish or Swedish, with a EUR 29,000 fee, a six-month target processing time and five-year licences. Licensed operations and marketing may start no earlier than 1 July 2027; software licence applications open the same day, and from 1 July 2028 licensees may only use licensed suppliers. By late May 2026 the National Police Board had received 41 applications, most from companies registered outside Finland.
What an applicant needs
- Fit-and-proper applicant with no recent unlicensed gambling or marketing penalties; non-EEA applicants appoint an EEA representative
- Application in Finnish or Swedish with a EUR 29,000 fee paid before processing
- Description of games, technical systems, player identification and age verification, and integration with the central self-exclusion register
- Written marketing plan naming brands, channels and measures protecting minors and vulnerable people
- Duty-of-care procedures for monitoring player behavior and contacting at-risk players
- AML and KYC procedures and data reporting to the supervisory authority, including the OCSS cryptographic signing system
- From 1 July 2028, game software only from holders of a Finnish gambling software licence
Gambling taxes in Finland
- Operators: Lottery tax of 22% of GGR for licensed operators from 1 July 2027 under the amended Lottery Tax Act (552/1992), plus 20% corporate income tax; Veikkaus's exclusive-right games are taxed at 12%. Until then Veikkaus alone pays lottery tax on its monopoly.
- Players: Winnings from gambling licensed in an EEA state are exempt from income tax in Finland; winnings from operators outside the EEA are taxable as earned income.
- Also: Supervision fees scale with revenue (EUR 4,000 to EUR 434,000). Administrative fines of EUR 1,000 to EUR 100,000 and penalty payments of up to 4% of the previous year's turnover (capped at EUR 5 million) apply for breaches.
Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments
Advertising
Until 30 June 2027 only Veikkaus may market gambling in mainland Finland; the National Police Board issues injunctions with conditional fines against anyone else. From 1 July 2027 licensees may market moderately through an exhaustive list of channels: their own website and social media accounts, television and radio, sports and public events, print and equivalent digital publications, gaming premises and search-engine keywords tied to the operator or its games. Affiliate, influencer and telephone marketing are prohibited, direct marketing needs prior consent, and adverts must show the age limit, responsible-gambling contacts and licence details. Free or discounted games and portraying gambling as a solution to money problems are banned.
Responsible gaming
Section 34 imposes a duty of care: operators must monitor and assess player behavior, including automated risk assessment, and act to prevent harm, although a decision to restrict a player may not rest solely on automated processing. A central self-exclusion register applies across licensees, and marketing may not target self-excluded players or players inactive for two years.
Identity and age verification
Strong identification is required at registration, in practice through Finnish bank identifiers or mobile ID, with an 18+ age limit. Licensees are AML-obliged entities and must report game and account data to the supervisory authority under the National Police Board's technical regulations.
Payments
Since 1 January 2023 payment service providers must block payments between Finnish residents and operators on the National Police Board's blacklist, the main enforcement tool until the market opens. Finnish players pay mainly through online bank transfers with instant bank identification, cards and mobile wallets, which licensed operators may accept from 2027; credit and cash stay outside online gambling.
Notable restrictions
- Veikkaus exclusive right to all gambling until 30 June 2027; no other marketing or operation allowed before then
- Payment blocking against blacklisted operators since 2023
- Affiliate, influencer and telephone marketing prohibited under the new Act
- Lotteries, scratch cards and land-based slot machines and casino games stay exclusive after 2027
- Software only from licensed suppliers from 1 July 2028
- Penalty payments up to 4% of turnover for serious breaches
Finland iGaming market: size, players and payments
No official estimate of total Finnish gambling including unlicensed play is published; the Government's proposal (HE 16/2025) cites weak channelling of online casino and betting to the domestic system as the reason for the reform. Veikkaus's CEO expects 40 to 60 licensed companies at the July 2027 opening (Yle, May 2026).
By late May 2026 the National Police Board had received 41 gambling licence applications, most from companies registered outside Finland (Malta the most common), and every application reviewed by Borenius included online casino and slot games.
Most of Veikkaus's digital play is mobile and the new Act's identification and marketing rules are written for app-based play; no official mobile share for the whole market is published.
Veikkaus Oy is the only legal operator until 30 June 2027 and will then compete through a separate group company; 41 applicants had filed by late May 2026 and Veikkaus expects 40 to 60 licensed competitors at launch.
Timeline: how Finland got here
- 2017-01Veikkaus, RAY and Fintoto merge into a single monopoly, Veikkaus Oy
- 2023-01Payment blocking against blacklisted foreign operators takes effect under the Lotteries Act
- 2025-03Government proposal HE 16/2025 for a new Gambling Act submitted to Parliament on 20 March
- 2025-12Parliament adopts the Gambling Act and related acts on 16 December
- 2026-01President approves the Act (10/2026) on 16 January
- 2026-03Licence applications open at the National Police Board on 1 March; EUR 29,000 fee, five-year licences
- 2027-07Licensed market opens on 1 July; Finnish Supervisory Agency takes over; software licence applications open
- 2028-07Licensees may only use software from licensed suppliers
Outlook
The Ministry of the Interior is drafting the decrees on running gambling games (project extended to 28 February 2027), the Ministry of Finance leads the build-out of the Finnish Supervisory Agency, and decisions on the first applications are expected during 2026 and early 2027. Operators aiming for day one on 1 July 2027 need a complete application in 2026; software suppliers cannot apply until 1 July 2027 and must be licensed by 1 July 2028. Veikkaus loses its corporate-tax exemption and will be split into exclusive-right and competitive companies.
Launching in Finland with GameBridge
Turnkey (your licence, our platform). Finnish gambling licences are granted to the operator itself, so a Finland-facing brand runs on GameBridge under the operator's own licence from 1 July 2027; GameBridge does not hold a Finnish licence and does not guarantee approval.
Finland stays on the default exclusion geo list until an operator's Finnish licence is in force, because only Veikkaus may offer or market gambling there before 1 July 2027. For a licensed launch, GameBridge configures Finnish and Swedish content supplied by the operator, a EUR wallet, geo-controls admitting Finnish residents only, strong identification with a central self-exclusion check, and duty-of-care monitoring with documented player contacts as section 34 requires. The marketing module is limited to permitted channels with affiliate tracking off for Finnish traffic, and the catalog is curated to studios preparing for a Finnish software licence, with GameBridge Studios and Originals releases shipping with the certification package the technical rules call for.
- Finland excluded by geo list until the operator's licence takes effect
- EUR wallet with Finnish and Swedish site content
- Strong identification and central self-exclusion check at login
- Duty-of-care monitoring, risk flags and player-contact log
- Marketing module restricted to permitted channels, no affiliate tracking
- Regulator data reporting exports aligned to the National Police Board's regulations
- Certification package for GameBridge Studios and Originals releases
Online slots and betting on football and ice hockey lead Finnish demand; GameBridge aggregates studios preparing for Finnish software licences and builds exclusive GameBridge Studios titles to the operator's brief for the 2027 opening.
Frequently asked questions
Is online gambling legal in Finland?
When does Finland's gambling market open to competition?
How much does a Finnish gambling licence cost?
What is the gambling tax rate in Finland?
Can a foreign company get a Finnish gambling licence?
How does GameBridge help operators launch in Finland?
Sources and review
Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.
- Licences under the Gambling Act — Poliisihallitus (National Police Board), accessed 2026-09-11
- Reform of the gambling system — Ministry of the Interior, accessed 2026-09-11
- Finland to open some gambling services to competition — Finnish Government, accessed 2026-09-11
- Finland's Gambling Act Reform: A Practical Guide to the New Licensing Regime — Borenius, accessed 2026-09-11
- Parliament approved the new Gambling Act — Veikkaus Group, accessed 2026-09-11
- How to Get a Gambling License in Finland (2026) — GamblingMaps, accessed 2026-09-11
Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.