Finland

Before 1940, the Finnish sports bettors could only wager on harness racing or "trotting," a form of horse racing more commonly known in Europe and especially Scandinavia. However, after the establishment of Veikkaus Oy and the simultaneous legal amendments related to sports gambling, the Finns had the first forms of legal sports betting at their reach. Over the years, Veikkaus Oy brought out multiple new sports betting products to entertain FI bettors, many of which, such as "multibets" (Moniveto), are still widely popular today.

In 2001, the state enacted yet another Lottery Act that reorganized the state's monopoly on betting activities. This modernized gambling legislation allows online wagering as it truly is the newest and most popular form of gambling. Since the government did not adopt a licensing system, it could not enable private operators to set up retail betting shops within the country.

The country did not address offshore betting until 2010 when the state amended the Lottery Act of 2001 to ban offshore sportsbooks from advertising their services in Finland. Therefore, as the legislation only restricts the advertising of offshore gambling products and services, these foreign operators can freely accept Finnish customers to their platforms and offer them pretty much all sorts of sports betting products.

Recent updates from the Finnish sports betting scene

• July 3, 2024: Finland plans to implement an open gambling licensing system by January 1, 2027. The move follows state-owned Veikkaus' support to combat illegal practices and address a declining online gambling market share. The proposed system, detailed in a 417-page draft law, includes strict advertising regulations, Know Your Customer provisions, and a centralized self-exclusion system.

• June 25, 2024: Aleksander Barkov becomes the first-ever Finland-born NHL captain to win the Stanley Cup. Barkov's Florida Panthers won the decisive game seven against the Edmonton Oilers 2-1. At the start of the season, the Panthers betting odds to win the Stanley Cup were +2000.

• May 16, 2024: During a panel discussion at the NEXT Summit, Veikkaus' SVP of international business, Jan Hagelberg, states that Finland will start handing out licenses to gambling and sports betting operators in September 2026 according to the previously announced schedule of transition to an open market.

• April 2, 2024: A Finnish court has temporarily halted an order that blocked payments to Betsson's subsidiary, BML Group, until the appeal process is completed. This suspension comes after Finland initially blacklisted the Malta Gaming Authority-licensed company, affecting banks, payment providers, and cryptocurrency entities.

• February 29, 2024: Finland's National Police Board (NPB) blacklists Betsson's BML Group, preventing all money transfers to its gambling or sports betting brands from Finnish players, marking the first instance of such action towards an MGA-licensed operator. The decision follows Betsson's earlier loss in a recent court case against the NPB.

• November 17, 2023: Veikkaus forms a partnership with OpenBet, leading to an upgrade of Veikkaus' fixed odds betting system to align with OpenBet's solutions. This collaboration was established significantly before the end of Veikkaus' monopoly in Finland in 2026.

As gambling is part of the whole country's culture, Finnish people have enjoyed basically all forms of gambling for decades now. The national lottery (Lotto), run by Veikkaus Oy, has played a big part in Finnish culture since January 1971. In addition to the lottery, Veikkaus also operates its own online casino and poker platform, as well as Casino Helsinki, the sole retail casino in Finland, which opened its doors back in 1991.

However, as Finns are not restricted from visiting and placing wagers on online casinos and other gambling sites, and as the government has not placed any restrictions regarding individual gambling, the wagering options are pretty much endless in the country.

Other gambling-related news & stories from Finland

• March 8, 2024: According to recent data, the Finnish gambling monopoly Veikkaus' Gross gaming revenue (GGR) sank 3.6% to €1.03bn ($1.12bn) in 2023. This now marks the second year in a row with GGR declining, as a year before, the same revenue dropped 3.0%.

• February 22, 2024: Playtech announces a strategic partnership with Finland's state-owned gambling operator, Veikkaus. The collaboration aims to enhance Veikkaus' offerings by providing a wide range of tailored live casino games.

• January 2, 2024: Veikkaus, Finland's government-owned gambling monopoly, has implemented new identity verification measures for all its games, including scratch cards, in line with its recent announcement.

• November 13, 2023: Veikkaus plans to reduce its workforce by 25% and restructure its operations into three units as Finland's gambling monopoly ends. Additionally, the operator will shut down Casino Tampere, which opened less than two years ago.