Finland’s Parliament has approved the country’s new Gambling Reform Bill by a landslide of 158 in favour to nine against. Operator license applications are set to open from March 2026.
Despite the ongoing militarisation of its 1,000 kilometre frontier with Russia and the growing existential threat against NATO’s Eastern Flank, Finnish lawmakers have also, somehow, found time to reform the country’s antiquated gambling laws, signalling the end to one of Europe’s last true gambling monopolies.
The new Finnish Gambling Reform Bill–passed earlier this week–is a landmark piece of legislation that dismantles the state’s decades-long monopoly of the gambling market through its Veikkaus Gambling Control Commission and opens it to competition for the first time.
The reform bill was stalled in parliamentary limbo for six-months but now all it requires is for President Alexander Stubb to sign on the dotted line – a foregone conclusion with an end-of-year deadline.
Major Transition
While much of Europe has already liberalised and is now tightening controls and increasing taxes, Finland is doing the opposite – opening the doors.
The Finnish Gambling Reform Bill does away with the country’s Veikkaus monopoly–hitherto the only platform permitted to offer sports betting, casino and lotteries–and instead introduces a multi-licence competitive regime.
Under the new regime, licence applications open in March 2026, with operators facing a comparatively friendly tax rate of 22 percent of gross gambling revenue.
Liberalisation, first floated in 2024, is an attempt to shore up the country’s gambling market, offer more competitive options, improve player protections and tackle offshore gambling – a major problem in Finland.
Game On
Finland is an attractive prospect, making the new licensing opportunities significant news.
The total gambling market is expected to reach €2.4 billion (£2.10bn) in 2025, with online accounting for almost 65 percent of total revenue (€1.56/£1.37bn).
Current projections estimate that the online market is growing at a healthy rate of 5.1 percent annually. Finns also spend more money on gambling per capita than consumers in most other countries.
However, the big issue is that around half of the market currently bets offshore, with an admittedly failing channelisation rate floating around 50 percent.
This is the reason that the reform gained cross-party support and even the backing of Veikkaus, which welcomed the transition, with Deputy CEO Velipekka Nummikoski saying:
“We have been waiting for a model that improves the possibilities of channelling gambling into a licensed offering”.
“Veikkaus has not had a real monopoly on gambling in Finland for a long time.
“According to various estimates, up to €600–900 million (£526–789m) is gambled outside the official system annually.”
Reality Check
Even politicians agree that the monopoly model no longer works.
Juha Hänninen, an MP from the ruling National Coalition Party, summed up the mood bluntly during the parliamentary debate:
“The current gambling system, in which Veikkaus has exclusive rights, no longer reflects reality.
“A significant part of gambling takes place outside our current system, online and on the platforms of foreign operators.
“No licence fees or taxes are paid to Finland for these games, and these operators have no responsibility for the gambling problems of Finns.
“The system is in dire need of reform,” argued Hänninen.
With legislation now approved, the market is expected to go live by July 2027, overseen by a new, soon-to-be-established Licensing and Supervision Agency.
The government is hoping that the new reforms will bring channelisation rates up to between 80 and 90 percent, in line with neighbouring nordics such as Denmark.
