Finland's parliament adopted the new Gambling Act and related legislation on 16 December 2025; the President of the Republic approved the Acts on 16 January 2026. The legislation is final. The Act ends the exclusive monopoly held by Veikkaus Oy on online sports betting, online casino games, and online money bingo and replaces it with a competitive licensing system administered by the new Finnish Gambling Authority. Most provisions of the Act enter into force on 1 July 2027, the date licensed private operators may begin accepting wagers.
The Act creates two principal licence categories: online sports betting and online casino games, each valid for up to five years. Licensed operators pay a flat gross-gaming-revenue tax of 22%. Annual supervision fees range from EUR 4,000 for operators with annual GGR below EUR 100,000 to EUR 434,000 for operators with annual GGR exceeding EUR 50 million. Operators must implement mandatory player identity verification, player-monitoring systems, and self-exclusion tools meeting Finnish Gambling Authority specifications. Veikkaus Oy retains the exclusive licence for lottery-type games, scratch cards, and physical slot machines and casino premises.
Private iGaming operators seeking to serve Finnish residents must apply for a Finnish Gambling Authority licence during the application window, which opened 1 March 2026. Operators must meet AML, KYC, and responsible gambling requirements set by the Act and its subordinate regulations before the licence is granted. B2B providers supplying software or platform services to licensed operators require separate licences. Operators currently serving Finnish residents without a Finnish licence must obtain authorisation or exit the market before 1 July 2027.
The Finnish Gambling Authority is newly established; detailed player-monitoring and self-exclusion tool specifications are still in preparation under implementing rules. The National Police Board retains enforcement authority until the Finnish Gambling Authority assumes full responsibility on 1 July 2027. Operators planning simultaneous entry into Sweden, where a credit-card gambling ban took effect in April 2026, and Finland should assess the differing responsible gambling standards in each jurisdiction.
Licentium advises iGaming operators and B2B suppliers on licensing strategy, AML compliance, and market-entry structuring across European jurisdictions including Finland, through a partner network. Contact us to discuss Finnish licence applications, responsible gambling programme design, or multi-jurisdictional compliance reviews. Work we undertake includes gambling licence applications, AML and KYC compliance programmes, responsible gambling tool implementation, B2B licensing assessments, and cross-border market-entry strategy.