State-Owned Gambling Operator May Relinquish Control of Finnish Market

Veikkaus, Finland’s exclusive domestic gambling enterprise, has called upon the government to change the nature of its native gaming marketplace. With no private firms given the opportunity to operate within the country’s regulated space, Veikkaus finds itself as the sole entity held accountable to Finnish gambling laws. The state-owned group now wants to address this balance and ensure any foreign-based operators offering services in Finland are compliant with a consistent set of local regulations.

Coupled with their ability to operate outside Finnish protocol, offshore gambling firms are also not liable to pay tax. In a recent interview with a domestic radio broadcaster, Veikkaus’ deputy CEO, VelipekkaNummikoski, highlighted the inherent unfairness of the current system, and stressed the organization’s desire for all parties to ‘work with the same rules of the game’

Nummikoski also illustrated the extent of external participation, further accentuating the need to bring these operators into the regulated realm. He said, ‘if we look at digital gaming, Veikkaus’ market share is only half. You can already ask if we really have an exclusive system anymore’ Indeed, a recent report suggests Finland’s gambling market generated €520m in the first half of 2022, with Veikkaus accessing just €260m of that bounty.

Given the Scandinavian nation has a mature customer database, already accustomed to gambling options and practices, Nummikoski argues that Finland presents a fertile market for external investors. He added, ‘the fact that we are currently offering games to Finnish customers shows that we are an attractive market. We would certainly get a significant number of good operators to Finland.’’