It’s official: Licensed gambling operators to enter the Finnish gambling market in July 2027

Finland has recently approved a landmark gambling reform, transitioning from a state monopoly to a competitive licensing model. This shift opens one of Europe's last untapped regulated gambling markets.

As a guide to creating its first licensing regime, Finland – a country with deep-rooted monopoly traditions – analysed the challenges its neighbours faced during their implementation of licensing models. Whilst the Finnish model is not a direct copy of either the Swedish or Danish regimes, it shares similarities with both, establishing an aligned Nordic approach to gambling regulation.

Key changes introduced during the final legislative stage

The Finnish Gambling Act underwent several last-minute amendments during its final legislative stages. The most significant changes concerned marketing restrictions and the timing of the key effective dates.

While the approved Finnish Gambling Act largely aligns with its second draft published in July 2025, certain provisions required revision following constitutional concerns raised during the legislative review. In particular, mandatory amendments were made to the proposed marketing rules to improve their precision and clarity.

Gambling marketing – clarification of permitted and prohibited activities

One of the principal issues related to the provision permitting “moderate” gambling marketing. In its original form, this provision was considered insufficiently defined and potentially disproportionate, as it did not clearly specify what constituted permissible marketing activity.

As a result, the provision was clarified by explicitly defining what does not qualify as moderate marketing. This includes campaigns that are particularly attention-grabbing, highly visible, or repeated with exceptional frequency across marketing channels. In addition, online search engines were expressly added as a permitted marketing channel where search terms directly relate to the licence holder or its gambling products.

The rules on prohibited marketing activities were also amended. In the final, approved version, the list of prohibited activities was refined through more precise wording and clearer criteria. Several unclear subsections were removed, including:

• provisions relating to the use of identifiers that track a consumer’s online traffic in connection with gambling marketing while simultaneously directing the consumer to a gambling website; and
• an open-ended general clause referring to any other similar activity to those described above.

Effective dates - revised implementation timetable

A further last-minute amendment concerned the entry-into-force dates of the new Finnish Gambling Act. Under the revised timetable, applications for business-to-consumer (“B2C”) licences may be submitted from 1 March 2026, reflecting a three-month delay compared to the original proposal.

The start of licensed B2C operations has been postponed further, with operations now permitted to commence in July 2027, six months later than initially proposed. B2B licensing will become applicable concurrently, while licensed B2B operations may commence from July 2028.

Transition period – Preparing for licence applications

The transitional period represents a critical phase in Finland's shift from a monopoly system to a licensed gambling market. While the licensing process is to open in March 2026, the monopoly operator Veikkaus will continue to operate under the existing regulatory framework until the new regime is fully implemented in July 2027.

This historic shift creates a rare first-mover opportunity for operators prepared to act, while also introducing new compliance requirements focused on responsible gambling, technical certification, and transparency. Operators considering Finland as part of their strategy should begin preparations now to ensure an efficient application process when the licensing window opens on 1 March 2026. Early preparation will be key to meeting compliance expectations and avoiding delays.