A flurry of operators have reportedly already submitted their interest in obtaining a licence for the Finnish iGaming market, ahead of the market’s liberalisation in 2027.
Finland opened up its application for operator licences period at the beginning of March, offering an opportunity for commercial companies to operate in the European country for the first time under a regulated framework.
Application process
Speaking on the recent Gaming in Finland webinar, Nordic Legal’s Head of Finnish Office, Pekka Ilmivalta, shared that between 10-20 operators have submitted an application for a licence once the liberalised Finnish market goes live on 1 July 2027.
However, there have been some technical issues, particularly for those companies based outside of Finland.
Ilmivalta said: “The application process aims at clarifying the reliability and suitability of the operator applying for the licence and that has to be understood. Most of the content requirements are drafted based on the Finnish point of view, which is not the case for most of the applicants.
“For the Finnish company applying for the licence, it would be much easier to work to get the application done, but for those outside Finland, and without Finnish social security numbers, it’s much more difficult.
“So, from our perspective in assisting operators, we need to find out the ways to respond to the questions, respond to the issues that the regulator wants to know. It’s not always easy, but I think we have good experiences of understanding what the regulator wants and how to get that documented in the application.”
Still work to do
Once the Finnish iGaming market opens up to new brands in 2027, commercially licensed operators will be able to offer sports betting, online casino games, online slots and online money bingo.
State-owned Veikkaus will retain exclusive control over Lotto, Eurojackpot and physical slot machines, but has shown its backing for market liberalisation and fair competition between operators – something it believes will not only help the Finnish market grow, but will also help combat the black market.
Ilmivalta added that most operators will be applying for a Finnish licence with a newly established company, one that will only be operating in Finland, so Nordic Legal has been finding out the information needed for the application in terms of background, persons involved, management and due diligence process.
Much information submitted is expected to be amended as well before operations begin, as well as necessary information about platform providers and suppliers, to make sure that everyone involved in an operator’s offering is licensed.
Ilmivalta said: “All that information needs to be amended before the market opens. There are still 16 months to go until the market opens and lots of things will happen for the companies with their plans.
“They need to disclose a marketing plan when they apply, but it’s not very easy to have plans for the fall of 2027 when there are almost two years to go. Plans will change. That’s how you have to perceive those requirements in the application process.
“Applicants should also understand that when they have the application ready and submitted, everything is not ready for Finland. There are lots of documents, lots of things that need to be done and also on the technical side to integrate onto the authorities’ platforms and to prepare and to build all the capabilities. There’s lots to go even after that.”
Finnish iGaming licensing pathway
Finland’s Gambling Act is based on the same licensing system as its neighbouring Nordic countries of Denmark and Sweden.
Its goal is similar to many other global gambling markets of channelisation – creating a comprehensive and competitive licensed market that will keep players away from unregulated offerings, as well as protecting players from gambling harm.
Jon Hautamäki and Niko Hannolainen of Nordic Law recently provided an in-depth regulation and direction analysis of the Finnish iGaming market to iGaming Expert.
Topics covered included duty of care, marketing, technical standards, software licensing and AML, as well as what’s to come next.
Nordic Law said: “The success of the entire gambling reform depends on whether licensed operators can win players back from the offshore market. Several regulatory tracks are developing on top of the Gambling Act, but their cumulative effect on channelisation has not yet been considered.”
The Gaming in Finland webinar also featured Peter-Paul de Goeij, Managing Consultant at Quod Bonum Consulting; Morten Ronde, Founding Partner at Nordic Legal; and Juuso Erixon, Sales Director at Ubetec, hosted by Gaming in EU Founder Willem van Oort.
