Gaming in Finland: Setting up for success as market gears up for launch

Finland represents one of the last opportunities in Europe to capitalise on a newly-regulated market, and some observers project it could become a Nordic success story – if done right.

The legislation has been approved, the presidential sign-off secured, but some regulatory developments are still ongoing. This leaves stakeholders with a lot to keep track of as the market gradually moves towards its launch date in July next year.

This could be overwhelming at times, but experts have already started to shed light on the matter on a daily basis, and the latest webinar from Gaming in Finland does just that.

Hosted by Peter-Paul de Goeij, Managing Consultant at consultancy firm QuodBonum, this week’s panel of guests brought together legal advisers and technology experts, who looked at the regulations from all angles.

Besides the official market launch deadline, there are a few other dates that are of equal importance to stakeholders – and Morten Ronde, Founding Partner at Nordic Legal, was quick to point them out.

“The licence window has already opened on 1 March,” Ronde highlighted, meaning that any firm which wants to become one of the first to enter Finland with a licence is now free to apply for one. 

The market itself is scheduled to launch on 1 July 2027, after which a transition period will follow until 1 July 2028 when suppliers need to be licensed as well. Several entities have already announced that they are ready to tackle the market, such as Hippos ATG, SuomiVeto, and Immense Group.

Ronde continued: “Perhaps the biggest reason why the market is attracting so much interest is the underlying opportunity. According to H2 Gambling Capital, Finland currently has a really large offshore market at around €900m, with only 22% of iGaming currently taking place within the regulated system.

“That is the real challenge – can we attract all that money to come back to the regulated market? Because if we can, then we’ll have a market that is actually the same size or bigger than the Danish market, even with a smaller population.”

But be aware…

But despite the opportunities, market entrants need to also be aware that regulations will likely take a different shape by next year. Secondary legislation is highly likely, if not inevitable.

The international industry is all too aware of this. Brazil is just one example, where frameworks were amended all the way up to the very last day before the deadline, and the dust is still settling.

Pekka Ilmivalta, Head of Finnish Office at Nordic Legal, said that there are still lots of questions about what the market will look like. For one, the license application process requires the provision of a marketing strategy – something that operators will find challenging to describe given that many of the advertising rules remain unclear.

Another key aspect of the application that companies need to be aware of is the requirement to provide information about their active management staff that will operate out of Finland – with Ilmivalta noting that many firms are still in the process of constructing their domestic teams.

Lastly, companies should also read between the lines when it comes to the technological provisions, Juuso Erixon, Sales Director at gaming IT provider Ubetec, reminded.

Entering the Finnish gambling market will require the adoption of various player safety tools and identification solutions mandated by the government, which will be crucial for success – and getting familiarised with them early on will be non-negotiable.