What will the Finnish gambling market look like after the end of the monopoly?

Finland is about to experience a historic moment in terms of gambling, as the gambling market will be opened up to competition in 2026, as stated in the current government programme, so future change in this regard is almost certainly on the way.

This will be a big change from the current situation, as Finland is currently a state monopoly. As a result, Veikkaus is the only operator with the right to produce and market gambling in Finland.

In all likelihood, the most popular online casinos among Finnish players in the future will be foreign-owned casinos.

New rules for the gambling market are under discussion

The liberalisation of the gambling market in Finland has been a topic of much discussion recently, especially among authorities and legislators. Of particular interest has been how the marketing of online casinos and bookmakers will be regulated by the licensing system.

The forthcoming amendment to the Lotteries Act will change many things, as several foreign companies will claim a licence under which they too will be entitled to market their services.

The Ministry of the Interior is currently preparing new initiatives on how foreign online casinos will be able to market their services under the licence. If the new rules and regulations are too strict, they may not attract companies to launch their sites in Finland.

On the other hand, excessive marketing to young people, for example, could cause problems for society. Veikkaus' turnover has been in constant decline, making it more difficult to recover the costs of problem gambling.

A licensing system would allow Finland to tax gambling companies and to raise more money for the specific purpose of dealing with gambling problems. At the same time, however, the aim is to create a situation where a freer market would not cause too many problems for individuals.

With this news, it is quite clear that the government will pay particular attention to how online casinos can be marketed to young people. It is likely that various restrictions, particularly on social media, are on the way.

Recently, many social media influencers have been under scrutiny for marketing gambling on their own channels. This has also led to fines for some of them, and the police have sent many of them requests for clarification on their marketing.

Lessons learned from other Nordic countries

Finland is in a good position in that many other Nordic countries have already liberalised their gambling markets by introducing a licensing system. It is even an advantage that Finland has woken up to the problems of the monopoly system later than its peers.

There are lessons to be learned from Sweden and Denmark, for example, on how different regulations work in practice. In these countries, marketing is strictly regulated, so there is unlikely to be a marketing Wild West in Finland.

Restrictions are also likely to be placed on the type of services that online casinos must have in place to restrict gambling. Currently, for example, players can set deposit limits on their own accounts.

There are also plans for a system whereby a player can require online casinos to prevent an account being opened with a casino that has a Finnish licence. This will effectively prevent gambling, especially by players who suffer from gambling problems.

In the big picture, the new licensing system will certainly be similar to that in other comparable countries, such as Sweden. Probably the differences will be relatively small and will be limited to a few specific areas and features.

Focus on responsible gaming

The main challenge for the whole licensing system is how to implement responsible gambling within it. Today, a huge variety of online casinos can be found online, some of which may operate in a number of grey areas.

Many players have reported, for example, how some casinos are pawning players' winnings and trying to delay their payment. It is precisely for this type of activity that a licensing system would be essential, as it would allow gambling to be directed towards the services of responsible operators.

Regulation will also have an impact on the level of competition in the sector in Finland. In the long term, competition can lead to better services. On the other hand, well-designed marketing and services can increase gambling, which in turn is reflected in an increase in gambling addiction.

The good thing about the licensing system, however, is that Finnish players' money will not be lost abroad to the extent that it will be in the 2020s. As Finns play fewer and fewer Veikkaus games, the money will disappear into other pockets. This leaves less money to distribute to organisations and to prevent problem gambling.

In the big picture, Finns benefit

Looking at the big picture, a licensing system is almost certainly a more viable solution in the current environment than a monopoly. Because the internet is fundamentally an open platform, Finnish players have more and more opportunities to gamble than ever before.

Veikkaus has been almost powerless to compete with foreign operators due to strict regulation and legislation. One big reason for this is that it is unable to offer players bonuses for playing.

One of its assets has been physical slot machines, but even these have been subject to increasingly strict regulation. Today, it is not possible to play Veikkaus games without each player identifying themselves at the time of play.

In addition, Veikkaus games do not have the same return rates as other online casinos. As a result, players have many good reasons to put their money into its other games.

The licensing system does not guarantee that online casinos will be able to offer deposit bonuses to new players, for example. However, this should be seriously considered, otherwise companies that have obtained a licence will be in the same trouble as Veikkaus is in today.

For players, the situation is excellent, as there will soon be reliable and safe online casinos to play at. In this case, players do not have to think so carefully about whether it is really a trustworthy casino if it has a Finnish casino licence.

It is also easy to solve various problems, as players can deal with them in Finnish. All in all, the licensing system seems to be largely good and offers benefits to almost all parties involved.