In Finland's soon-to-be-regulated online gaming market, there exists a stark disparity among operators. Some will step into the arena with millions of customers, while others will begin with an empty slate. This discrepancy was highlighted during a panel discussion at the SBC Summit in Lisbon on Tuesday, named "Finland’s waiting: The start of a new European market". Among the speakers was Antti Koivula, chief compliance officer at Hippos ATG, who shared the stage with Paf's Sverker Skogberg, Betsson Europe's Ivana Pejic, Finnplay's Brian Forth, and NordPlay Group's Emil Nilsson.
In an interview with iGB following the panel, Koivula remarked that operators licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) will bring their existing Finnish customers with them, thereby leading to a significant variation in the customer data that these companies will have upon entering the market. For instance, the state-run Veikkaus boasts over 2.7 million customers, enabling it to carry forward players across sports betting and casino games. Koivula anticipates that more than 2 million active users will be seen as these operators launch. While major firms may have upwards of a million players, several have several hundred thousand, leaving some operators, including Hippos ATG—a collaboration between Swedish operator ATG and the Finnish trotting association Suomen Hippos—starting with no customer base.
Koivula noted, "There was some discussion of whether the playing field is genuinely level. But there’s no point crying about it: it has been decided and everyone will have to live with it."
Looking ahead, operators can now seek licensing for the market set to open in July 2027. This regulatory shift, according to Koivula, feels overdue. He stated, "It’s about time it happened. My personal opinion is that it should have happened 10 or 15 years ago." He pointed to 2017 as the critical moment when the three state-owned operators merged into Veikkaus, indicating that signs indicating the need for change were evident back then, particularly with the declining channelisation rate.
Since that merger, Veikkaus has seen its gross gaming revenue plummet by about 45%, falling from between €1.7-1.8 billion, with similar reductions in state payments. When asked what prompted the government to finally take action, Koivula succinctly responded: "Money."
He expressed concern regarding the readiness of the new regulatory authority, which is set to assume its role on July 1, 2027. Currently, the agency is in the process of onboarding a director who is expected to start on January 1, giving them just six months to prepare.
"Personally, I’m rather concerned about whether they’ll be operational de facto from day one," Koivula explained. "De jure, legally, they will be; there’s no doubt about that."
While he anticipates that licenses will be issued on schedule, he cautioned that the regulator might not provide guidance initially or be adequately equipped to oversee the black market. He referenced publications from the regulators themselves, revealing that the Finnish authority will have less than half the staffing of its Danish counterpart, despite similar population sizes.
The appeal of the Finnish market is underscored by how much Finns are willing to spend on gambling. Koivula remarked, "The Finnish market is really lucrative: per capita GGR is high and there’s a lot of potential." This spending culture is deeply rooted, as gambling is virtually ubiquitous under the monopoly, with slot machines found in grocery stores and everyday locations.
Meanwhile, Veikkaus remains a state-owned entity, with talks of a partial sale circulating; however, Koivula does not foresee any changes in that regard before 2030. This situation means that the incumbent operator will enter a more competitive market benefitted by the support of the state and an apparent head start of over 2 million customers.
For those operators beginning without a customer base, the clock is ticking down to July 2027. Whether the new regulator will be prepared to support them remains uncertain.
