Gaming Law 2023 Comparisons

Ongoing Transition to a Partial Licensing System

Following the parliamentary elections of 2 April 2023, on 20 June 2023 the new government outlined in their governmental programme that Finland will transition from a gambling monopoly system to a partial licensing system by 1 January 2026 at the latest. As a rule, the licensing system will cover online casino games and online betting, while the rest will remain under the exclusive rights system. The monopoly activities remaining with the state-owned gambling company Veikkaus, and the activities in the competitive market, will be separated into different companies within the same group.

When the licensing system is introduced, the supervision of the gambling industry will be enhanced, and sufficient resources for supervision will be secured. The government will enable consumers to self-exclude from gambling on a single platform for all licensed services, and will ensure other necessary means of controlling gambling-related harm. Additionally, the government programme states that the transfer of game machines from open spaces to separate controlled areas will be investigated.

Cutting the Ties Between Beneficiaries and Gambling Proceeds

Starting from 1 January 2024, gambling proceeds will be forwarded to the normal state budget procedure without any designated purposes, unlike in the current situation. The connection between the state-owned gambling exclusive rights-holder Veikkaus and the beneficiaries was considered problematic, as the funding of the so-called good cases should not depend on the level of gambling proceeds.

Gambling Law Reform of 2022

Finland has recently undergone a gambling law reform, which:

• introduced new responsible gambling features;
• clarified the situation regarding marketing restrictions;
• extended compulsory identification to all regulated gambling; and
• provided the regulator with new supervisory tools, namely administrative penalties and PSP-blocking of operators that have conducted illegal marketing in Finland.

The new features were implemented in phases, with the last due to enter into force at the beginning of 2024.

Resulting partly from the gambling law reform of 2022, the state-owned gambling exclusive rights-holder Veikkaus’ gross gaming revenue has notably decreased, especially as compulsory identification has caused considerable gross gaming revenue losses. The resources designated for the supervision of foreign gambling marketing directed towards Finland were also considerably increased, and the regulator was assigned new and more effective tools.

Finland has a gambling monopoly in place under which the state-owned operator, Veikkaus, has exclusive rights to organise and market gambling. Licences to organise lotteries or bingo games with non-monetary prizes, or to operate non-monetary prize machines, are only available to organisations whose registered office is in Finland, and when the lottery is conducted to raise funds to promote a non-profit activity.

Fantasy sports and social gaming fall under Veikkaus’ exclusive rights if participants may win a prize of monetary value, based in full or in part on chance, and if there is a charge for participation.

Please refer to 2.1 Online.

The Finnish gambling market is regulated by the Lotteries Act (1047/2001). The main supplementary provisions include:

• the Government Decree on Lotteries (1345/2001);
• the Government Decree on Games Operated by Veikkaus Oy (1414/2016);
• the Ministry of Interior’s Decree on rules of Veikkaus’ games (7593/2022);
• the Government Decree on the Advisory Board on Gambling (658/2017);
• the Lottery Tax Act (552/1992);
• the Criminal Code (39/1889);
• the Act on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (444/2017);
• the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679;
• the Data Protection Act (1050/2018);
• the Consumer Protection Act (38/1978);
• the Act on Electronic Communications Services (917/2014);
• the Act on the Autonomy of Åland (1144/1991);
• Åland’s Provincial Law on Lotteries (10/1966);
• the State Shareholdings and Ownership Steering Act (1368/2007);
• the Act on the Financing of Education and Culture (1705/2009);
• the Act on Discretionary Government Grants (688/2001);
• the Act on Virtual Currency Providers (572/2019); and
• the Limited Liability Companies Act (624/2006).

Gambling means an activity in which participants may win money based in full or in part on chance, and in which there is a charge for participation.

Finnish gambling legislation is technology-neutral, and it applies both to online and to land-based gambling. Land-based gambling has not been defined in the legislation. In general, all gambling activities taking place in mainland Finland fall within state-owned gambling operator Veikkaus’ exclusive rights.

Online gambling games means gambling games which are provided remotely, by electronic means or by any other technology for facilitating communication.

Administrative and Criminal Sanctions

Finnish law includes both administrative and criminal sanctions for gambling violations.

Administrative sanctions include:

• a prohibition order;
• blacklisting for PSP blocking;
• conditional fines; and
• administrative penalties, which range from EUR500 to EUR40,000 for private individuals, and from EUR10,000 to EUR5 million for legal entities.

Gambling-related criminal offences include:

• organising an illegal game of chance;
• a gambling offence; and
• a lottery offence.

The maximum penalties vary between six months and two years of imprisonment, depending on the act.

Gambling Offence

The provision and marketing of other gambling services, except those of the exclusive rights-holders, qualify as a gambling offence, punishable by up to two years of imprisonment.

Also, providing premises for the use of a slot machine, a specialty gaming machine, or a casino game other than those of the exclusive rights-holder is considered a gambling offence.

Similarly, selling or supplying tickets, receiving stakes, or distributing winnings connected to exclusive rights-holders’ games without permission constitutes a gambling offence.

Organising an Illegal Game of Chance, and Lottery Offence

Organising an illegal game of chance, including keeping premises or allowing a game of chance to take place in accommodation or in food and beverage service businesses, is punishable by up to one year of imprisonment.

The following also qualify as a lottery offence, punishable by up to six months of imprisonment:

• running a lottery with non-monetary prizes without a licence;
• using the proceeds of such a lottery in violation of the law; or
• violating the conditions or provisions of a licence to run a lottery.

Additionally, breaching the marketing restrictions of the Lotteries Act (1047/2001) qualifies as a lottery offence (please refer to 9.4 Restrictions on Advertising).

Participation in unauthorised gambling is not penalised. For penalties related to key gambling offences, please refer to 3.5 Key Offences.

Finland is currently transitioning from an exclusive rights system to a partial licensing system, and the connection between gambling proceeds and the beneficiaries is being severed. Please refer to 1.1 Current Outlook and Recent Changes.

The Gambling Administration at the National Police Board supervises gambling services in Finland. It is an independent organisation within the administrative sector of the Ministry of the Interior. In its gambling supervision duties, the Gambling Administration co-operates with the police, and may submit requests for investigations into suspected criminal matters to the police.

Finland has a distinct regulatory approach to gambling, which is characterised by a combination of government control and a monopoly system. It focuses especially on:

• social responsibility;
• player protection; and
• the use of gambling revenue for the greater good.

The Finnish government has announced its plans to partially open the market for competition, no later than 1 January 2026. Please refer to 1.1 Current Outlook and Recent Changes.

Please refer to 2.1 Online.

Please refer to 2.1 Online.

No gambling licences are available in Finland. The maximum operational lengths are as follows:

• for operating a non-money lottery – one year;
• for operating bingo games – three years; and
• for operating non-monetary prize machines – two years.

No gambling licences are available in Finland. Licences to organise lotteries or bingo games with non-monetary prizes or to operate non-monetary prize machines are only available to organisations whose registered office is in Finland, and when the lottery is conducted to raise funds to promote a non-profit activity.

The operation of these games must not be manifestly inappropriate in respect of the public interest, and the licensing authority must not have reasonable grounds to suspect that the applicant will act in violation of the provisions on running the games in question.

There are additional requirements related to:

• the payment of the lottery tax;
• revocation of a licence;
• purpose limitations concerning the proceeds from certain games; and
• certain game-specific requirements such as the maximum allowed ticket sales and the limits for the combined value of prizes.

Applications for organising lotteries or bingo games with non-monetary prizes or for operating non-monetary prize machines are processed without delay, and the process is fast.

The fees related to licence applications for organising lotteries or bingo games with non-monetary prizes or for operating non-monetary prize machines vary between EUR35 and EUR79, depending on the game type.         

The licence holders are only required to pay the gambling tax, which is:

• 1.5% for non-money lotteries, guessing competitions and non-money prize machines; and
• 5% of the total value of distributed prizes for bingo games.

Please refer to 2.1 Online.

Finland is currently transitioning from a gambling monopoly system to a partial licensing system. However, based on the information available as of October 2023, licences would be granted only for providing digital casino games and digital betting, while the rest would remain under the exclusive rights system. It must be emphasised that the reform process is currently in its early stages, and the possibility of changes to the initial plans cannot be ruled out.

Online gambling B2C licences are not available.

Online gambling B2B licences are not available.

The state-owned exclusive rights gambling operator Veikkaus is the only entity for whom marketing of gambling services is legal in Finland. The law sets out extensive marketing restrictions for Veikkaus; consequently, it is not de facto possible even for them to use affiliate marketing in the form it is commonly used in the gambling sector.

Use of white-label solutions is currently not possible under Finnish law.

Finland is in the process of introducing a licensing system for digital casino games and digital betting, at the latest by the beginning of 2026. Please refer to 1.1 Current Outlook and Recent Changes.

Since the beginning of 2023, it has been possible for the supervisory authority to add non-compliant B2C gambling operators to the PSP-blocking list. Banks, virtual currency providers, and other payment service providers are obligated to implement or initiate gambling-related payment transactions from mainland Finland to gambling operators who are on the PSP-blocking list.

According to the Lotteries Act (1047/2001), gambling games must be run in such a manner as to:

• ensure legal protection of gambling participants;
• prevent misuse and crime; and
• prevent and reduce the economic, social and health-related harm resulting from gambling.

Below are the main responsible gambling requirements.

• From the beginning of 2024, all regulated gambling will be identified.
• Each player is permitted to have only one player account.
• Persons under the age of 18 shall not be allowed to gamble. 
• When registering on the Veikkaus website, before the first money transfer, the player must set daily and monthly money transfer limits.
• Players cannot transfer money to their gaming account between 12am and 6am.
• The gaming account can have a maximum of EUR20,000 at any given time.
• The fast-paced games have a daily loss limit of EUR500 and a monthly loss limit of EUR2,000. Players may also set lower daily and monthly limits for themselves.
• Veikkaus electronically transmitted gambling games include a game reminder, which notifies the player every 60 minutes about the time spent playing with a notification appearing on the screen. After receiving the notification, the player must choose whether to continue playing or to log out.
• The player may also change the appearance interval of the game time reminder to less than 60 minutes.
• The player can set a self-exclusion, preventing them from playing electronically transmitted gambling games. The player can set the self-exclusion on a game or game group basis.
• In all electronically transmitted gambling games, there is always a visible and accessible quick-closure feature (a “Pause Gambling” button) that allows the player to stop playing. Using this button prevents the player from purchasing electronically transmitted gambling games until the end of the following day.

Finland also has strict marketing restrictions in place – please refer to 9.4 Restrictions on Advertising.

The Finnish government has announced its plans to partially open the market for competition, no later than 1 January 2026. It is not yet known what responsible gambling/self-exclusion (RG/SG) features will be included in the new system.

Please refer to 7.1 RG Requirements.

The Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (444/2017) forms the key AML legislation relevant to the Finnish gambling sector.

As previously stated, the Finnish government has announced its plans to partially open the gambling market for competition, no later than 1 January 2026. It has not yet been confirmed what the AML requirements under the new system will be.

The gambling exclusive rights-holder Veikkaus and its agents are obligated (subject to certain conditions) to:

• identify their customers;
• verify their customers’ identities;
• monitor any unusual transaction patterns;
• submit money laundering reports on suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the National Bureau of Investigation; and
• draw up a risk assessment to identify and assess the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Please refer to 4.1 Regulatory Authority.

Broad Legal Definition

The definition of marketing within the meaning of the Lotteries Act (1047/2001) is extremely broad. In general, marketing has been defined to include:

• advertising;
• indirect advertising; and
• other sales promotion activities.

Indirect advertising, in particular, is the promotion of a product in combination with the advertising for another product, where the distinctive mark of another product or its seller is used as such or is recognisably adapted to the product, or where the advertising of another product conveys an image of a certain product or its seller.

Exceptions

It has been clarified in the Lotteries Act that keeping a gambling website accessible online, regardless of its language, is not considered marketing as long as the website is not linked to other material promoting gambling in Finland. Furthermore, gambling marketing in a foreign publication distributed in Finland – where the main purpose of the publication is not the marketing of gambling games and gambling marketing is not aimed at Finland in particular – is not considered gambling marketing within the meaning of the Lotteries Act.

The Lotteries Act (1047/2001) regulates the Finnish gambling market:

• Section 4(1)(8) defines marketing (please refer to 9.2 Definition of Advertising);
• Section 62(2)(1) prohibits marketing of games other than those provided by the exclusive rights-holder; and
• Section 14b sets out the limits for permitted marketing (please refer to 9.4 Restrictions on Advertising).

Additionally, the Consumer Protection Act (38/1978) Chapter 2 includes certain general marketing provisions that bind the gambling exclusive rights-holder.

General Marketing Rules

Marketing is only allowed to the exclusive rights-holder Veikkaus, and involves heavy restrictions. In general, gambling marketing must be:

• moderate in quantity, scope, visibility and recurrence; and
• necessary to direct gambling demand towards the regulated provision of gambling services.

Marketing must not promote gambling that causes economic, social and health-related harm by doing the following.

• Idealising gambling, by presenting it as a desirable or exaggeratedly positive activity, or by inciting gambling.
• Describing frequent gambling positively, or describing non-playing or moderate gambling negatively.
• Portraying gambling as an everyday activity by equating gambling with:
1. everyday life;
2. a person’s everyday routines; or
3. a person’s everyday or normal consumer behaviour, such as purchasing food or clothing.
• Presenting gambling as a necessary or harmless pastime.
• Presenting gambling as:
1. a solution to a person’s financial problems;
2. a means of improving a person’s financial position;
3. a means of addressing a person’s challenges with life management; or
4. an alternative to work;
• Describing gambling as a way of promoting a person’s social success or acceptance.
• Providing a misleading or unrealistic picture of the chances of winning in a gambling game.
• Over-emphasising the potential for high winnings.
• Characterising gambling as an activity that has no economic, social or health-related risks.
• Exploiting ignorance, inexperience or credulity associated with gambling.
• Providing play money or providing gambling games free of charge, or at a reduced price or with combined offers.
• Offering other gambling games to be purchased or selected in connection with the selection of a gambling game or other commodity, or in the collection of winnings.
• Providing a random advantage other than the possibility of winning in connection with a gambling game purchase.
• Encouraging the financing of non-profit activities through gambling.

Minors Under Special Protection

Marketing must not be targeted at minors or otherwise vulnerable persons. Minors must not be presented in marketing. Gambling games must not be marketed in:

• television and radio broadcasts;
• public performances of visual content in cinemas; and
• publishing activities aimed at minors, or media services aimed at minors or appealing particularly to minors and young persons.

The marketing of gambling games must always include information on:

• the permissible age limit for gambling; and
• where to obtain information on gambling management tools and service providers providing assistance for problem gambling.

Marketing of High-Risk Games Only Allowed at Their Point of Sale

Certain games – namely electronic money lotteries, fast-paced electronic pools, slot machines, casino games and combination games with a particular risk of gambling harm – may not be marketed outside the specific game rooms, casinos and racetracks where the games or their points of sale are located. Gambling locations for slot machines must not be marketed; however, information on the gambling locations can be provided.

Marketing Prohibited for Self-Excluded Players

Marketing shall not be targeted at a player who has self-excluded from all gambling. If a player has self-excluded from a specific game, the player may only be subject to marketing of gambling games from which the player has not self-excluded.

The supervisory authority may prohibit marketing that infringes the regulations. The prohibition order may be reinforced with a conditional fine. Administrative penalties ranging from EUR500 to EUR40,000 for private individuals and from EUR10,000 to EUR5 million for legal entities may also be imposed against infringers (please refer to 11.3 Financial Penalties). Finally, illegal gambling advertising qualifies as a criminal offence punishable by up to two years of imprisonment (please refer to 3.5 Key Offences).

As stated previously, the Finnish government has announced its plans to partially open the market for competition, no later than 1 January 2026. It is not yet known what kind of marketing restrictions and possible sanctions will be included in the new system.

According to the Lotteries Act (1047/2001) the gambling exclusive rights-holder Veikkaus is a wholly state-owned company, and acquisitions or changes in control would require legislative changes.

Please refer to 10.1 Disclosure Requirements.

Please refer to 10.1 Disclosure Requirements.

The Gambling Administration of the National Police Board has the power to impose prohibition orders enforced with conditional fines, and, if the infringer is a gambling operator, to place them on the payment blocking list.

The Gambling Administration may also propose to the Market Court the imposition of an administrative penalty payment for the infringer. It is also within the Gambling Administration’s discretion to forward an investigation to the police, who may then continue the procedure in the criminal process. For key offences, please refer to 3.5 Key Offences.

In general, the enforcement appetite of the Finnish authorities may be described as moderate. However, since the Gambling Law reform of 2022 (please refer to 1.1 Current Outlook and Recent Changes) introduced new tools and increased supervision resources, the authorities have been increasingly active in enforcement.

Relevant authorities impose gambling-related fines/penalties in accordance with their powers and forward the fines/penalties to the Legal Register Centre, which is responsible for collection in accordance with Finnish law. Regarding PSP-blocking, the Gambling Administration of the National Police Board is responsible for maintaining and updating a list of gambling operators. Banks, virtual currency providers, and other payment service providers are obliged to block gambling-related money transfers from mainland Finland in compliance with these regulations.

Conditional Fines

Conditional fines have no maximum or minimum limits. When determining the amount of a conditional fine, the authorities must take into account the circumstances related to the case, such as:

• the nature and scope of the main obligation;
• the financial capability of the obligated party; and
• other factors relevant to the matter.

Conditional fines in gambling-related cases have ranged between EUR10,000 and EUR2.4 million.

Administrative Penalties

The amount of administrative penalties is based on an overall assessment, and is determined taking into account:

• the nature, extent, seriousness and duration of the violation;
• the benefits of the violation;
• actions taken by the perpetrator to mitigate or repair the damage; and
• any previous violations of the perpetrator.

For private individuals, the penalty shall not exceed 4% of the person’s taxable income in the year preceding the end of the violation; while for legal entities, the penalty shall not exceed 4% of their turnover.

The minimum penalty is EUR500 for private individuals and EUR10,000 for legal entities; and the maximum penalties are EUR40,000 and EUR5 million, respectively.

Gambling-related administrative penalties are applicable against private individuals; please refer to 11.3 Financial Penalties. Additionally, criminal charges are possible; please refer to 3.5 Key Offences.

Tax Rate for Gambling Games

The tax rate applicable for games arranged under exclusive rights, including all gambling games, was temporarily decreased for the period of 2021–2023 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the tax rate is 5% of the gross gaming revenue, and from 2024 onwards will return to 12%.

Tax Rates for Games With Non-Money Prizes

The relevant tax rates are as follows:

• for non-money lotteries, guessing competitions, and operating non-money prize machines from the profits – 1.5%;
• for bingo games – 5% of the total value of distributed prizes; and
• for lotteries that do not require a permit – 30% of the total value of distributed prizes.

As stated previously, the Finnish government has announced its plans to partially open the market for competition, no later than 1 January 2026. This reform can be expected to bring various significant changes. Please refer to 1.1 Current Outlook and Recent Changes.