For decades, Finland has had a state-run monopoly on all gambling. Currently, tides are turning in the Finnish online gambling market. This has included everything from scratchcards, lotto, keno, bingo, table games, slots, and even sports betting. However, the government previously announced that the country would be creating its own license and will welcome outside companies into the market.
This will undoubtedly have huge business implications and affect several companies’ bottom line, as Finland is looking to regulate gambling.
Finland still has an existing state-run monopoly in place. Incremental change will start to happen as Finland begins to regulate in the year 2025.
In spite of Finland having had a closed gambling market ever since the 1940s, the country has not been able to avoid foreign influences or competitors. The reason for this is the EU’s free movement clause. Meaning, Finland cannot simply ban online casinos from operating online.
Moreover, the only accepted reason for having a monopoly is the pursuit of keeping the market as responsible as possible. This is in accordance to the EU laws. Over the years, many have argued that Finnish Veikkaus has failed this mission as Finland has some of the highest numbers for gambling problems worldwide.
In the country, the vast majority of shops and gas stations have slot machines inside of them. Due to this, every 18-year old passer-by is able to gamble in conjunction with buying their groceries or filling their gas tanks at the pump. For this reason, it is no surprise that Finnish people have also been gambling-oriented enough to find their way to foreign online casinos in droves.
Some would believe and argue that having gambling everywhere in Finland would diminish the need to play online. Nonetheless, most Finnish gamblers are well aware that online casinos are doing all they can to stay relevant with massive bonuses and promotional campaigns on the free market. In addition to this, foreign online casinos feature games from hundreds of game providers. This is where Veikkaus focuses on its own creations.
The Finns also like that many of their favorite casinos are tax-free. Verovapaatnettikasinot lists brands like these that operate under well-known and reputable EU licensing. The most trustworthy are casinos from Malta and Estonia.
