Finland

Finland is dismantling its state monopoly and moving to a licensed market, one of the most significant European liberalisations in progress. The new Gambling Act was signed into law in January 2026 after parliamentary approval in December 2025, ending Veikkaus's exclusivity over online casino and betting. Supervision currently rests with the National Police Board (Poliisihallitus) until the end of 2026, after which a new Licensing and Supervisory Agency takes over from 2027. Under the new regime, operators will hold a gambling licence covering online casino and betting, with a mandatory B2B software licence from 2028; Veikkaus retains exclusivity over lotteries, scratchcards and land-based gambling. The market opens on 1 July 2027 - pushed back from the originally proposed January 2027 - while the licence application window opened in March 2026 and remained active through mid-2026. Tax is expected to be a unified lottery tax of 22% of GGR applying to both licensees and Veikkaus, though official confirmation of the final rate is unverified and should be treated cautiously. For operators, Finland represents a rare greenfield opportunity: a previously monopolised market with established online demand opening to competition on a known timetable. The strategic questions are the definitive tax rate, the detail of licence conditions, and how quickly channelisation shifts from offshore sites to newly licensed operators. Early applicants are positioning now for a 2027 launch into a sizeable Nordic market.