Finland will open its market for online betting, slots, casino games and online bingo to licensed companies on July 1, 2027. The basis is the Gambling Act 10/2026, dated January 16, 2026. Its main provisions take effect on that day.
Veikkaus' monopoly ends for these games. Betting, online slots and casino games, as well as electronic bingo, move to a regulated, competitive market. Veikkaus keeps lottery games, scratch cards, land-based slot machines and land-based casino games.
Supervision passes to a new authority. The National Police Board will carry out this task until June 30, 2027, and will issue licenses applied for before that date. The change of authority does not require operators to file new applications: registers, materials and obligations pass to the new authority by law.
The date also matters for software suppliers. Companies will be able to apply for a separate game software license from July 2027, while the licensing requirement itself takes effect on July 1, 2028. From then on, license holders must use only licensed game software.
The situation is different right now. On mainland Finland, the current Veikkaus Oy monopoly remains in place until June 30, 2027. Applications for game operating permits can be submitted from March 1, 2026, but operators cannot run games under them before the market opens. A launch is possible only with a license valid on that date.
According to the government, the aim of the law is to reduce harm from gambling and increase the share of play through regulated channels. The next milestone is July 1, 2027, when the authority starts issuing licenses and supervising the market.
