Finland legalizes casinos but leaves all internet traffic to the shadow market

Finland is abandoning its long-standing state monopoly and moving to a licensed market in its gambling industry. The reason is simple: the old control system simply lost to the internet. 

How the system worked before

For many years, the market was controlled by a single state operator — the Veikkaus company. It held exclusive rights to online casinos, betting, lotteries, and land-based slot machines. But digital reality broke this scheme. More than half of the local players have long gone to foreign websites, as foreign brands offer more flexible terms, bonuses, and modern software. Hundreds of millions of euros are leaking out, which the state cannot control. 

What is changing

In December 2025, the Parliament of Finland approved the reform bill. Timings and conditions: 

• 2026 — start of accepting license applications; 

• July 1, 2027 — full launch of the open market; 

• Tax — the rate will be around 22% of gross gaming revenue.

Private companies will finally be able to legally work with local traffic. At the same time, Veikkaus will not be liquidated. The state operator will retain its monopoly on lotteries and physical slot machines, but online it will compete with private brands on equal terms. 

Finland is implementing a model similar to the system in Sweden and Denmark, but with caveats. A new independent regulator will monitor order. Websites without a local license will be blocked at the provider level, their payment gateways will be cut off, and their advertising will be completely banned. 

Special emphasis will be placed on player protection: a unified self-exclusion registry will be launched, and control over addiction will be strengthened.  

And here is the most important news: in the final text of the law, the Finns rolled in a harsh amendment that changed the traffic acquisition strategy. Legal casinos were banned from working with affiliate networks, hiring influencers, and buying ads on social media. Official brands were left with only traditional media and sports sponsorship. It turns out that for classic white arbitrage, this market closed before even opening. 

Antti Koivula (a well-known Finnish lawyer and expert on the legal regulation of gambling) called this approach schizophrenic: “The new gambling law pursues several main goals: to bring players back into the legal field, increase the acquisition of new customers, and prevent harm associated with gambling. Affiliate programs will not disappear; they will contribute to the development of the black market, and I do not understand how this can contribute to increasing the number of attracted customers or reducing the harm associated with gambling,” stated Antti Koivula.