The landscape of Finland's regulated online gambling market is set for change, but not all operators will start on equal footing. Some companies enter the market with a significant customer base, while others will begin with none.
This disparity was highlighted during a panel discussion titled "Finland's waiting: The start of a new European market" on the Regulation & Compliance Stage at the SBC Summit in Lisbon. Antti Koivula, chief compliance officer at Hippos ATG, joined Paf's Sverker Skogberg, Betsson Europe's Ivana Pejic, Finnplay's Brian Forth, and NordPlay Group's Emil Nilsson in addressing this issue.
Koivula spoke to iGB after the panel, pointing out that operators licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) would have the advantage of bringing existing Finnish customers with them. He noted that operators like Veikkaus, which boasts over 2.7 million customers, can continue to engage players who have previously enjoyed sports betting and casino games. He expects that this number could surpass 2 million. Meanwhile, other prominent operators may have customer bases in the hundreds of thousands, but several will be starting entirely from scratch, including Hippos ATG, a collaboration between the Swedish operator ATG and the Finnish trotting association, Suomen Hippos.
Koivula expressed concern over whether the playing field would truly be level. "There was some discussion of whether the playing field is genuinely level," he said, adding, "But there’s no point crying about it: it has been decided and everyone will have to live with it."
Applications for licenses are now open ahead of the market's expected launch in July 2027. For Koivula, the decision to change the landscape is long overdue. "It’s about time it happened," he stated. "My personal opinion is that it should have happened 10 or 15 years ago."
He recalled that the optimal moment for change was in 2017, when Finland's three state-owned operators consolidated into Veikkaus. He noted, "All the signs were there back then," citing a channelisation rate that had already begun to decline. Koivula pointed out that Veikkaus's gross gaming revenue has plummeted by approximately 45%, dropping from about €1.7-1.8 billion, and that its contributions to the state have similarly decreased. When asked what ultimately prompted the state to take action, he succinctly replied, "Money."
Looking ahead, Koivula raised concerns about the competence of the new supervisory authority, which is slated to assume control on July 1, 2027. With the search for a director still underway, set to conclude by January, he fears the agency may struggle to be fully operational when the time comes. "Personally I’m rather concerned about whether they’ll be operational de facto from day one," he said, clarifying that while they will be legally established, practical readiness might be lacking.
Koivula anticipates that licenses will be issued on time, but worries that the regulator might not provide initial guidance or effectively monitor the black market. He referenced publications from the authority itself, indicating that the Finnish regulatory body will be staffed at less than half the capacity of its Danish equivalent, even though both nations are of similar size.
The potential of the Finnish gambling market cannot be overstated. "The Finnish market is really lucrative: per capita GGR is high and there’s a lot of potential," Koivula remarked. This high spending on gambling is ingrained in Finnish culture, with gambling options permeating everyday life, including slot machines found in grocery stores.
Veikkaus remains a state-owned entity, and while speculation about a partial sale is intensifying, Koivula doubts it will materialize before 2030. This status means that the current monopoly will enter the competitive market with the backing of the state and a substantial head start of over 2 million customers.
As the clock counts down to July 2027, operators that are starting from scratch face an uncertain path ahead, particularly regarding the new regulator's readiness to accommodate them.
