Finnish gambling regulation on the verge to a new licensing system

Shirley Pulis Xerxen October 23, 2023

SiGMA news

Finnish gambling regulation on the verge to a new licensing system

In June 2023, the Finnish government announced plans to introduce a domestic gambling licensing system for online casino and betting. The system is expected to be implemented no later than 1 January 2026, making an end to the Finnish monopoly. However, stakeholders fear that the government will have to fast-track the legislative work to make it in time.

Up until now, the Finnish gambling market has been regulated through the Lotteries Act, and the state-owned operator Veikkaus holds a monopoly to provide gambling services in Finland. However, it has been legal for Finnish players to wager online with foreign gambling operators seated outside of Finland. It has also, under certain circumstances, been legal for foreign gambling operators to accept bets from Finnish players.

The introduction of a new license model must be interpreted as a clear signal from the Finnish authorities. They are committed to increasing consumer protection and channelization of licensed gambling activities.

Over the past few years, the Lotteries Act has been deemed to be ineffective. Therefore, it has been under major reform since 2021. The focus has been on enabling the authorities to take swift actions against non-licensed operators, who unlawfully provide and market gambling services in Finland.

As a result, the new amendments to the Lotteries Act enabling the authorities to take further action came into force in January 2022. Furthermore, a provision of payment blocking entered into force in January 2023. No gambling operator may illegally, directly or indirectly, advertise gambling in Finland. This is supervised by the National Police Board. The National Police Board now has, through the new payment blocking provision, the mandate to impose a prohibition order and add foreign operators to the payment blacklist for a maximum of 12 months, with a possibility to renew it 12 months per time. Payment service providers must ensure necessary blocks are implemented without undue delay.

After the amendments, it still remains legal for Finnish inhabitants to gamble with foreign gambling operators. In the same way, under certain circumstances, it remains legal for foreign operators to accept Finnish customers. But until the licensing system becomes reality, the existing monopoly regime will remain.

Zimpler is organizing a round table about Finnish iGaming regulations. The event will see the participation of industry and legal experts and will take place at Zimpler’s Malta office at Soho, The Strand, Gzira on Monday 13 November from 11am till 12pm. To register your interest please send an email to [email protected]. Places are limited.

Zimpler (http.//zimpler.com) will be at the November edition of SiGMA Malta between 13-17 November. Come visit us at stand 1102 for a chat with our iGaming Team!