The Finnish National Police Board has re-added Betsson’s BML Group subsidiary to its payments blacklist, restricting all transactions between its brands and players.
On an updated payments black list published last November 28, the operator has reappeared as the only name. Finland introduced the blacklist in 2022 as part of the country’s Lottery Act. From 2023, the measure came into effect.
A Police Board report dated April 20, 2024 said the regulation wanted to limit the accessibility of gambling offers outside the regulation of the Lotteries Act. This is to the extent that the offer is marketed in violation of the Lotteries Act.
Blacklisted companies are unable to carry out transactions with Finnish banks, payments providers and players.
The BML case began in May last year when authorities discovered that the company had targeted Finnish players with marketing campaigns that violated the Finnish Lotteries Act. The court fined BML Group €2.4 million (£2.1 million/$2.6 million) and banned it from promoting its gambling services.
As a result, authorities blacklisted it last February. Nonetheless, it appealed the ruling in the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland. Yet it lost its case. BML will stay blacklisted until October 19 of the following year as stated by the updated list. Bans can last for up to 12 months. However, it can extend for 12 months at a time.
Local lawyer for Legal Gaming, iGB Antti Koivula said that the outcome stems from prolonged unauthorized operations in Finland.
Koivula said that while the resolution of this case unfolded as expected, the more intriguing question now is who will be next to join BML on the black list.
In January 2026, Finland is preparing to launch a competitive online gambling market. The European Commission is currently reviewing the government’s new legislation. The government will present it to the Finnish Parliament in 2025.
