Veikkaus posts first signs of change ahead of Finland market transition

Data from Veikkaus Group reveals minor turbulence in the Finnish market ahead of its scheduled re-regulation in 2027.

Veikkaus’ operating profit for the period January-June 2025 was capped at €230m compared to the €252m for the same period last year.

Actual sales revenue in the first half of this year totalled €466m (H1 ‘24: €484m), which includes GGR and turnover from other business activities.

Addressing the declines, the state-owned operator attributed them to the delayed launch of its new lottery game Milli, lower Eurojackpot levels, changes in general consumer behaviour and decreasing customer purchasing power.

Finland’s total gambling market shrunk by 0.7% YoY, totalling €970m in GGR for the six months ending June. Veikkaus’ total market share dropped 2 points YoY to around 48%.

The total value of Finland’s iGaming market was €790m in the first half of the year. According to data from H2 Gambling Capital, Veiukkaus accounted for 36% of the total digital gambling market share in Finland, dropping 1% YoY.

Internal estimates revealed that 60.9% of the total Veikkaus GGR came from digital channels (up 0.4% YoY), while 39.1% was generated from physical points of sale.

Lottery holds Veikkaus status

Splitting internal reporting into two segments, Veikkaus also provided figures on “Lottery and Land-Based Gaming” and “Betting and iCasino”.

Lottery and land-based gaming GGR came at €318m, down from €331m in H1 2024. Lottery-specific GGR between January and June dropped to €246m (€256m), attributed to lower Eurojackpot prize levels and a smaller number of draws.

Total GGR from slot machines and physical table games stood at €71.3m (€75m), with the decline caused by a reduction in the number of slot machines as Veikkaus implements a digital-first strategy.

Betting and iCasino came at €146m in GGR, down from the €152m for the same period last year. “Weak gross gaming margin development” across Toto games, as well as slow down in international football during the summer brought betting-specific GGR down.

The betting GGR drop was offset by a strong online casino performance, with in-house game launches by Veikkaus returning solid revenue gains.

All in all, lottery and land-based gaming represented 68.8% of Veikkaus’ gambling revenue in Finland, while betting and iCasino represented approximately 31.2%. 

Veikkaus’ CFO Regina Sippel said: “During the first half of the year, we have implemented Veikkaus’ strategy as planned and invested in the development of both domestic business and international growth. 

“The beginning of the year has been very promising for our international business subsidiary, Fennica Gaming.”

Player numbers increase ahead of transition

Interestingly, despite the previously mentioned decline in purchasing power, Veikkaus saw an uptick of 25,000 registered customers in H1 compared to the same period last year. This amounted to a total of 2,625,000 players, and serves as a sign that the market is increasing ahead of the transition.

Overall, the declining revenues were expected given that the market is currently in its transition period as Finland prepares to limit the Veikkaus monopoly and open up the market to competition in 2027.

However, experts believe that the market’s value will quickly rebound after international players move in, reaching above the €2bn mark within just a few years.

And while the government will tap into a new source of tax revenue as well, the market will carry a new sense of regulatory responsibility with it when moving forward.

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