UNITED STATES—Who would have known that the inhabitants of a small Nordic country would also be hardcore gamblers? In 2014 Finns came in 4th when they measured the most money spent on gambling per person each year. The number then was 400 euros per person and Finland beat even other notorious gambling nations such as Great Britain and Italy.

Finns have truly beaten the odds because Finland, compared to other Nordic countries, has one of the strictest gambling laws in Europe. The state-owned betting agency Veikkaus Oyj is the only company, which is legally allowed to market and organize gambling events in Finland. However, hundreds of foreign – mostly Malta-based – gambling sites are fighting over Finnish players as one of their main target audiences. You can learn more about them from Kasinohai.com.

Veikkaus Oyj operates a very successful betting and casino website, lottery, and also hundreds of slot machines in public spaces all around Finland. As a state-owned business, its profits are mostly used to prevent problem gambling and to promote the well-being of young people through sports and culture. In these past recent years, Veikkaus Oyj has become a subject of criticism and also Finland has raised the question of a possible licensing system to replace the ongoing monopoly. They all will affect Finnish gambling, but first of all, let us take a look at how the Finns gamble.

The average Finnish gambler: a short introduction

Every four years the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare does thorough research on Finnish gambling habits, risk-gambling, and its current state in Finland. The most recent one is from 2019. According to the research, almost 80 percent of all adults in Finland between the ages of 15-74 have played at least one type of gambling game in the past year. Problem gamblers make three percent of all gamblers.

The most favorite game types are, in actual order: lottery games, scratch cards, and slot machines that can be found outside of brick-and-mortar casinos. Finns also love to do sports betting especially on horse racing, ice hockey, and football as well. More than 34 percent of gambling is done online. This number is increasing day by day. On average, a Finn uses a little more than ten euros a week on gambling. That makes 520 euros a year; it is the highest number in Europe. Also, Finnish men gamble more than women.

Gambling regulations

In Finland, you have to be over 18 to be able to gamble. You can do it online or in one brick-and-mortar casino that is located in Helsinki. Finland’s second casino opened in Tampere in 2021 but had to close in 2023 due to being unprofitable. Veikkaus Oyj regulates mainland Finland, but Åland has its own betting company named PAF. It also operates an online gambling site, a brick-and-mortar casino in Gibraltar, and slot machines, that are found in the cruise ships between Finland, Sweden, and Estonia.

Is the license system the only way for Finland?

Denmark introduced its licensing system in the year 2012 and Sweden followed suit in 2019 to introduce its license system for all gambling sites. Now any gambling company who wants to promote its services to Danish or Swedish players, must get a license first and pay taxes to the licensing country. Even small Estonia started handing out licenses to foreign companies.

The licensing system has many advantages; it can help regulate who and how foreign companies operate in the country and also get tax income from it, which is not possible now with the monopoly system. Finland has also thought of this opportunity, but in recent years it has been turned down numerous times by the government.

More restrictive legislation on the way

In the meantime, despite having the only remaining monopoly gambling system in Europe, the Finnish government is preparing a law to ban Finns from transferring money to foreign gambling sites from their bank accounts. This way it is believed the government can be able to control and prevent problem gambling better than before. It has caused a stir inside the Finnish gambling community and has only led people to find other ways to send money to foreign sites and gamble.

Also, Finland is planning to add an identification process to all slot machines around Finland to prevent underage gambling. Also, it is suggested to help risk-gamblers in controlling their use of money with different restrictive measures that can be put in place and added to the identification. In other words, risk-gamblers can ban themselves from gambling and they won’t be able to log in to slot machines.

In a more free Europe, Finland’s restrictive approach to gambling has also been noted in the European Union, where Finland has been asked many times to explain its need for the monopoly. Also, The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has called Finland to end its gaming monopoly. What way Finland chooses to go in the future, remains to be seen.