Is Finland’s playing field level? Hippos ATG’s compliance chief on starting from scratch

By jili tutorial · October 3, 2026

Finland’s New Regulated Online Gambling Market: A Comprehensive Guide for Operators

Overview: A Long‑Awaited Shift

Finland is finally moving away from its state‑monopoly gambling model toward a licensed, competitive online market. Operators can now apply for licences ahead of the July 2027 launch. This guide expands on the key insights from a panel at the SBC Summit in Lisbon, featuring Antti Koivula (Chief Compliance Officer, Hippos ATG) alongside other industry leaders. We’ll examine the market’s unique dynamics, the challenges for newcomers, and the regulatory landscape you need to understand before entering.

The Starting Line: A Built‑in Imbalance

Customer Bases That Dwarf New Entrants

Some operators will enter Finland’s regulated online market with millions of customers already on their books. Others will start with zero. This asymmetry was a central topic at the SBC Summit panel, where Koivula noted that MGA‑licensed operators can bring their existing Finnish players into the new regime.

Veikkaus, the current state‑owned monopoly, has more than 2.7 million registered customers. Koivula expects that well over 2 million of those – those already playing sports betting and casino games – will automatically transfer when Veikkaus obtains its licence.
The largest international operators may have more than a million Finnish players each, while several have six‑figure bases.
“A handful of operators start from scratch” – Hippos ATG, a joint venture between Swedish operator ATG and the Finnish trotting association Suomen Hippos, is one of them.

This disparity raises a critical question: Is the playing field genuinely level? Koivula’s pragmatic answer: “There’s no point crying about it: it has been decided and everyone will have to live with it.” For new entrants, the priority must be aggressive customer acquisition and brand building from day one.

Why Customer Data Matters

Existing player data gives incumbents a massive advantage:

Personalization & CRM: Operators can immediately target their most valuable players with tailored offers, loyalty schemes, and reactivation campaigns.
Risk & Compliance: Historical data helps model player behaviour, detect problem gambling patterns, and demonstrate responsible‑gambling compliance to the regulator from the outset.
Revenue Forecasts: A known customer base provides immediate cash flow, while entrants must invest heavily in marketing before seeing returns.

Example from other markets: When Sweden opened its regulated market in 2019, operators with existing (grey‑market) customer databases – such as Bet365, Unibet, and LeoVegas – quickly converted those players, leaving smaller newcomers to fight for leftovers. Finland will likely follow a similar pattern.

The Monopoly’s Legacy and the Push for Change

A Market Decades Overdue

Finland’s gambling monopoly was maintained through a single state‑owned entity, Veikkaus, formed in 2017 from the merger of three operators (Veikkaus, Fintoto, and Raha‑automaattiyhdistys). For Koivula, the natural moment to introduce competition was exactly that year: “It should have happened 10 or 15 years ago. … It’s easy to say now, but all the signs were there back then.”

The primary sign was a declining channelisation rate – the percentage of total gambling that takes place through legal channels. As players increasingly turned to unlicensed offshore sites, the state’s revenue bled away.

The Revenue Trigger: Money Talks

Koivula attributes the government’s eventual action to a simple factor: money. Veikkaus’s gross gaming revenue has fallen by roughly 45% – from about €1.7‑1.8 billion – and its payments to the state have dropped by a similar share. When a monopoly can no longer maximize tax revenue and consumer protection, the political will to open the market emerges.

Comparison: Denmark (similar population size) introduced a multi‑licence system in 2012 and now enjoys a channelisation rate above 90%. Finland’s rate was estimated at just 50‑60% before the reform – meaning nearly half of all gambling was unregulated.

Regulatory Readiness: A Cause for Concern

The New Supervisory Authority

On 1 July 2027, a brand‑new regulator (to be named) will take over supervision of the licensed market. Koivula’s main worry is operational readiness.

Director recruitment: The authority is still hiring its director, who is due to start on 1 January 2027 – only six months before launch.
“Personally I’m rather concerned about whether they’ll be operational de facto from day one,” Koivula said. “De jure, legally, they will be; there’s no doubt about that.”
He expects licences to be granted on time, but the regulator may not be able to provide detailed guidance to operators at launch, nor be ready to supervise the black market effectively.

Staffing Levels: A Red Flag

Citing the regulator’s own publications, Koivula points out that Finland’s new authority will have less than half the staffing of its Danish counterpart – despite both countries having similar population sizes (about 5.5 million). Denmark’s Spillemyndigheden employs around 100 full‑time equivalents; Finland’s new body is projected to have fewer than 50.

Why staffing matters:

Licensing & compliance require case‑by‑case review, AML checks, and ongoing monitoring.
Black‑market enforcement demands investigators, legal teams, and technology tools to block unlicensed sites.
Player protection needs staff for self‑exclusion programmes, dispute resolution, and responsible‑gambling audits.

Without adequate resources, the regulator may struggle to enforce the rules, creating a window of vulnerability for both licensed operators and consumers.

Cultural Context: Gambling as a Way of Life

Finland’s market appeal starts with how much its citizens already gamble. Per‑capita gross gaming revenue (GGR) is among the highest in Europe, according to Koivula. This is no accident.

Under the monopoly, gambling was ubiquitous: slot machines in grocery stores, kiosks, gas stations, and even cafeterias. Veikkaus’s physical presence normalised gaming for decades. As a result, Finnish players are accustomed to betting and have a high willingness to spend.

Implications for operators:

Entry is lucrative, but competition for the ‘wallet share’ of these experienced players will be intense.
Responsible‑gambling measures will be scrutinised more closely than in markets with lower engagement.
Marketing must respect the cultural familiarity – players are sophisticated and may resent aggressive tactics.

The Incumbent’s Advantage: State Backing and Customer Wealth

Veikkaus: Still State‑Owned, Still Powerful

Despite the end of the monopoly, Veikkaus remains 100% state‑owned. Talk of a partial sale is growing, but Koivula does not expect any privatisation before 2030 at the earliest. That means the incumbent enters the competitive arena with:

A government‑guaranteed balance sheet.
The largest customer database (2+ million).
Deep brand recognition and trust (state‑sanctioned).
Pre‑existing infrastructure: payment systems, CRM, AML frameworks.

New entrants, especially those starting from scratch, must accept that the playing field is not level. Koivula’s advice: focus on differentiation, innovative products, and niche segments rather than trying to outspend Veikkauss.

Key Dates and Milestones for Operators

Date/Timeframe	Event
Now – 2027	Application window for licences open.
1 Jan 2027	New regulatory authority’s director expected to start.
1 Jul 2027	Market launch; licences take effect; Veikkauss’s exclusive right ends.
2030+	Earliest possible partial sale of Veikkauss (speculative).

Note: Operators should apply early to allow for processing and prepare compliance frameworks months in advance.

What New Entrants Must Prepare For

1. Customer Acquisition from Zero

Budget for heavy marketing – both digital (affiliates, SEO, social) and offline (sponsorships, events).
Loyalty programmes to compete with incumbents’ existing player history.
Localised content (Finnish language, payment methods like e‑tunnus and MobilePay).

2. Regulatory Compliance

AML/KYC: Implement robust identity verification and transaction monitoring from day one.
Responsible gambling: Offer deposit limits, self‑exclusion, and real‑time player analytics.
Data protection: Finland adheres to GDPR; any customer data transfer from grey‑market operations must be handled legally.

3. Licensing & Reporting

Apply under the new Finnish licensing regime (details still emerging – monitor regulator updates).
Prepare for quarterly reporting on revenue, player numbers, and problem‑gambling indicators.

4. Black‑Market Competition

Even after regulation, unlicensed sites may persist. Regulator weakness could prolong this. Operators should differentiate with responsible‑gambling credentials and transparent operations.

Conclusion: A Race Against the Clock

Finland’s regulated online market offers tremendous opportunity, but the odds are stacked against new entrants from the start. The incumbent Veikkauss enters with decades of brand equity and millions of active players, while the regulator may struggle to enforce the rules in its early months.

For Koivula and Hippos ATG, the countdown to July 2027 has begun. Whether the playing field can be levelled over time depends on how quickly the regulator builds capacity and how aggressively new operators can chip away at the incumbent’s market share.

Final takeaway: Success in Finland will demand a long‑term strategy, deep pockets, and a willingness to compete against a state‑backed giant. The only certainty is that the market will never be the same again.