Finnish regulator confirms 12 gambling licence approvals

12 companies have received licences to operate in Finland’s upcoming online gambling market, the National Police Board has revealed through an information request submitted by iGB.

Several companies including Wildz Group and HipposATG had announced licences themselves but this is the first official confirmation from the regulator itself of licence approvals for the highliy anticipated market opening.

Finland is in the process of liberalising its previously state monopoly-run regime, opening online gambling up to private operators on 1 July 2027. A licencing application process is ongoing and being administered by the National Police Board.

The National Police Board told iGB that as of 26 October, 79 gambling licence applications had been submitted. 12 licences have been granted so far, while zero have been rejected.

The following companies have been granted licences to launch online gaming operations when the market opens:

• Hippos ATG Oy
• Sunflower Gaming Limited
• Granturo Finland Ltd (Wildz Group)
• Skill On Net Ltd
• SuomiVeto Oy
• Cloudberry Ent Limited
• SixthSpin Limited
• KuuFlip Limited
• RocketLily Ent Limited
• Nivei Ursi Limited
• YTBlue Limited
• Buccone Trading Limited

Veikkaus and other big names still waiting to hear

Notably absent from the list so far is Veikkaus, the current state monopoly which had also submitted an application to continue contesting the online gaming market post-liberalisation.

Veikkaus is expected to have an advantage once the market opens due to its brand recognition, and its expansive existing database of customers.

The company will retain its monopoly over lottery, scratch cards and land-based gaming machines in the country when the market opens while online gambling will be subject to private competition.

Anticipation builds for market opening

As the latest and one of the last European countries to axe its monopoly model, Finland’s market opening has drawn wide interest from operators.

With one of the highest per-capita gambling rates in the world, the market had a total estimated GGR of €1.9 billion in 2026, according to H2 Gambling Capital data. An estimated 81% of total market GGR came from online sources.

The country is seen as a mature market with a broadly well-received regulatory regime and a stable political consensus backing gambling, in contrast to many other European markets which are currently undergoing regulatory tightening and tax hikes.