Applying for a gambling licence

State the name of the applicant. The name of the applicant is the name of the legal entity (business name) or the natural person who is applying.

A gambling licence can be granted to a legal entity or a natural person. A licence can only be granted if the applicant is fit and proper as defined in the Gambling Act. If the applicant is a legal entity, the applicant's significant shareholders and executive management must also meet these requirements.

A gambling licence cannot be granted to the holder of an exclusive licence.

If you are applying for a licence on behalf of a legal entity registered in Finland, state the business ID here.

For legal entities registered abroad, you can provide the VAT Identification Number (VATIN) or an equivalent identification number.

If you are applying as a natural person, state your Finnish personal ID code or, if you do not have one, your date of birth. 

State the legal form of the applicant, such as the company form. If you are applying as a natural person, you can leave this section of the application form blank.

State the applicant’s postal address, email address and telephone number as contact details.

State the name and contact details of the person who will act as the applicant's contact person. Also, state the name and contact details of the person who will act as the applicant's contact person for technical matters. The contact details are an email address and a telephone number. 

The contact person is the individual whom the supervisory authority will contact first if the matter concerns the application or licence.

The details of the contact person for technical matters are provided separately to allow for a smooth integration with the supervisory authority's information systems.

Provide information on the members and deputy members of the applicant's Board of Directors, significant shareholders, and executive managers.

A significant shareholder is a person who directly or indirectly holds at least 25% of the shares or voting rights in a limited liability company. If the entity is not a limited liability company, the corresponding proportion of ownership or control applies. The executive managers are the applicant's CEO and members of the management team.

If the applicant does not have a CEO and/or a management team, the natural persons responsible for the operational aspects of the business should be stated under ‘members of the executive management’. These may include the individuals responsible for the applicant’s financial, technical, marketing or compliance affairs, as well as general partners or other senior managers.

For each person referred to above, state the first name, last name, role in the legal entity, and Finnish personal ID code or, if not available, date of birth. In addition, for individuals who do not have a Finnish personal ID code, a separate attachment must be submitted with proof of the person’s record of fines, criminal record, and fulfilment of obligations.

Provide information about companies and entities directly or indirectly linked to the applicant. State the name and unique ID of the linked companies and entities.

For legal entities registered in Finland, the unique ID is the business ID. For legal entities registered abroad, it is the VAT Identification Number (VATIN) or other equivalent ID.

At a minimum, the following are companies and entities directly or indirectly related to the applicant:
•    A limited liability company that is partly or wholly owned by the company or entity that is applying for a licence (a shareholding of at least 25% is considered significant)
•    A limited liability company that is a partner of the general partnership that is applying for a licence
•    A company or entity that is linked to the company or entity that is applying for a licence, where the link is via a person in a position of responsibility or via another company or entity

• Another limited liability company solely owned by a member of the Board of Directors of the limited liability company that is applying for a licence 
• A subsidiary owned by the parent company of the limited liability company that is applying for a licence
• A company or entity in which the natural person who is applying for a licence currently holds or has held a position of responsibility
• A company or entity directly or indirectly linked to the direct business or entity linked to a natural person who is applying for a licence, such as the parent company of a subsidiary whose Board of Directors includes the natural person who is applying for a licence.

Please note that this list is not exhaustive. Any other companies and entities directly or indirectly linked to the applicant must also be specified.

Indicate the dates for which the licence is requested. A gambling licence is granted for a maximum of five years at a time. The licence cannot be granted retroactively.

Indicate the implementations to be covered by the requested licence. If you use the online service or the application form, you can tick the implementations that you plan to operate.

A gambling licence may be granted for the following implementations:

• Fixed-odds betting 
• Variable-odds betting
• Virtual betting
• Online casino games
• Online cash bingo 
• Online slot machine games

A gambling licence can be granted for one or more gambling implementations at the same time. In your application, state clearly how many different implementations you are requesting a licence for and what those implementations are.

State on the form the details of the software provider used to operate gambling activities. State the name and identifying information of the gambling software provider and the name and contact details of the contact person.

For a legal entity registered in Finland, state the business ID here. For a legal entity registered abroad, state the VAT Identification Number (VATIN) or other equivalent ID.

The identification number of a natural person is their Finnish personal ID code or, if they do not have one, their date of birth.

Also state the name, email address and telephone number of the person who will act as the software provider's contact person.

Provide a written statement on where and how the gambling will be marketed. At a minimum, state the main marketing methods and channels. The statement should also identify all the brand names used in marketing.

The statement should also describe the means or principles used to protect minors and other vulnerable people from the marketing of gambling.

You can enter your statement directly into the application or attach it separately.

Provide a written statement on the procedures for handling disputes, complaints and other questions regarding gambling. Also state the number of people trained and employed in these duties.

You can enter your statement directly into the application or attach it separately.

Provide a written statement on the measures to detect and prevent match-fixing. You can describe measures such as the choice of events that customers can gamble on and risk management methods for betting, as well as your involvement in national and international cooperation to combat match-fixing.

Provide a statement even if there is no risk of match-fixing in the planned implementations. In this case, you can state that there is no risk of match-fixing and, therefore, no need for action.

You can enter your statement directly into the application or attach it separately.

Provide a written statement on how you will comply with your statutory obligations under the Money Laundering Act to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Describe in the statement how you will implement customer due diligence, your duty to investigate and report, and the risk assessment and risk management procedures required of an entity with a duty to report under the Money Laundering Act.

You can enter your statement directly into the application or attach it separately.

Include any additional information about the application here. For example, you can enter information that did not fit in the space reserved for it.

State your billing address. The billing address will be used to invoice for the application processing fee and licence supervision fees.

Please note that the licence application fee will be invoiced after the matter becomes pending. The application fee must be paid before a decision is taken, and the application will not proceed if the invoice is not paid.

State how you would like to be informed of the licence decision. You can choose to have the decision sent by post to the applicant's address or by email to the email address of the applicant or contact person.

Sign the application. If you apply for a licence using the online service, you can sign the application with Suomi.fi authorisation. The authorisation must be in the name of the applicant organisation. For more information and instructions on how to apply for Suomi.fi authorisation, please visit the Suomi.fi website maintained by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

If you apply for a licence using the online service on behalf of a newly established or registered organisation without Suomi.fi authorisation, your application must be accompanied by documentation that proves you are entitled to sign on behalf of the company or authorised to apply for the licence.

Licence applications sent by email or post can be signed either physically or electronically. The electronic signature must be at least an advanced electronic signature in accordance with the eIDAS Regulation (EU 910/2014).

The signature affirms that the information provided is correct. The person signing the application must be entitled to sign on behalf of the applicant or authorised to apply for the licence.

The licence application must be accompanied by certain mandatory attachments. If you do not provide the necessary attachments with your application, the supervisory authority will request them. This will delay the processing of your application. The authority may also request other documents, if necessary.

The number of attachments required and the scope of the information to be provided in them depends on the applicant’s status. In practice, applicants registered abroad must proactively provide some information that, for applicants registered in Finland, could be verified directly in the official registers.

In addition, certain information must be provided in a separate attachment concerning natural persons applying for a licence and persons in positions of responsibility at the applicant if they do not have a Finnish personal ID code.

Some attachments are mandatory for all applicants.

The following information and documents must be attached to the application, irrespective of the applicant's country of registration or personal ID number:

• A power of attorney, if the person signing the application is not entitled to sign on behalf of the applicant
• The articles of association, rules or equivalent description of the applicant's operations
• The financial statements or an equivalent report on the applicant's financial position
• The annual report or equivalent description of the applicant's activities

In addition, the application must always be accompanied by information about the applicant’s agents, if the applicant uses agents. An agent is a trader or entity that receives gambling-related payments, brokers winnings, or provides premises for the operation of gambling machines or lottery machines. 

In the attachment describing the agent’s activities, provide the following information about each agent:

• Name of the trader or entity
• Business ID
• Postal address
• Name and contact details of the contact person 

The agent’s contact details are a telephone number and an email address.

If you are applying for a licence on behalf of a legal entity that is not registered in Finland, please also include the following information and documentation:

• Extract from the register of companies, associations or foundations
• Applicant's criminal record or equivalent certificates
• Certificates of fulfilment of obligations

The extract from the register of companies, associations or foundations or a similar certificate must show the applicant's legal name and the individuals entitled to sign on behalf of the applicant.

The criminal record or equivalent document shows whether the legal entity applying for the licence has had a corporate fine imposed on it for an offence within the five years preceding the date of submission of the licence application.

The certificates of fulfilment of obligations must provide sufficient information on the applicant's tax debt balance, enforcement status, and whether the applicant is prohibited from engaging in business. These documents are intended to demonstrate that the applicant is fit and proper.

All the official documents, certificates and registrations proving fitness and propriety submitted with the application must state the name and contact details of the authority that issued the document. The attachments must be up to date (no older than 6 months).

When examining the licence application, the authority will also assess whether the following natural persons are fit and proper:

• The members and deputy members of the applicant's Board of Directors
• The applicant’s significant shareholders (25% or more of the voting rights, ownership or control)
• The CEO
• The members of the management team
• Other members of the applicant's executive management

The other members of the applicant’s executive management may include the individuals responsible for business operations, such as those overseeing the applicant’s financial, technical, marketing or compliance affairs, as well as general partners or other senior managers.

If any of the individuals listed above does not have a Finnish personal ID code, the following documents must be submitted for them with the application:

• Proof of the person’s record of fines and criminal record 
• A certificate of their tax debt balance or an equivalent document
• A certificate of their enforcement status or an equivalent document
• A certificate stating whether the person is disqualified from doing business

Submit the above documents for each responsible person and significant shareholder who does not have a Finnish personal ID code.

The proof of the person’s record of fines must cover the three years preceding the submission of the application. The criminal record must cover the five years preceding the submission of the application. A different certificate that confirms whether the person has been sentenced to a fine or imprisonment for a criminal offence in the five years preceding the submission of the application may also be accepted as sufficient proof.

Certificates of fulfilment of obligations should indicate whether the person concerned has neglected to pay their taxes or other statutory charges, has debts in enforcement, is disqualified from doing business, or is bankrupt.

If necessary, other certificates, registers or official documents can demonstrate fitness and propriety.

All the official documents, certificates and registrations proving fitness and propriety submitted with the application must state the name and contact details of the authority that issued the document. The attachments must be up to date (no older than 6 months).

State the name of the legal entity (business name) or natural person acting as the representative.

If the representative is registered in Finland, state the business ID here.

For legal entities registered abroad, you can provide the VAT Identification Number (VATIN) or an equivalent identification number.

If the representative is a natural person, state their Finnish personal ID code or, if they do not have one, their date of birth.

State the legal form of the representative, such as the company form. If the representative is a natural person, you can leave this blank.

State the representative’s postal address, email address and telephone number as contact details.

State the name and contact details of the person who will act as the representative's contact person. The contact person is the individual whom the supervisory authority will contact first if the matter concerns the application or licence. 

Provide information on the members and deputy members of the representative's Board of Directors, significant shareholders, and executive managers.

A significant shareholder is a person who directly or indirectly holds at least 25% of the shares or voting rights in a limited liability company. If the entity is not a limited liability company, the corresponding proportion of ownership or control applies.

The executive managers are the representative's CEO and members of the management team. If the representative does not have a CEO and/or a management team, the natural persons responsible for the operational aspects of the business should be stated under ‘members of the executive management’.

For each person referred to above, state the first name, last name, role in the legal entity, and Finnish personal ID code or, if not available, date of birth. In addition, for individuals who do not have a Finnish personal ID code, a separate attachment must be submitted with proof of the person’s record of fines, criminal record, and fulfilment of obligations.

Provide information about companies and entities directly or indirectly linked to the representative. State the name and unique ID of the linked companies and entities.

For legal entities registered in Finland, the unique ID is the business ID. For legal entities registered abroad, it is the VAT Identification Number (VATIN) or other equivalent ID.

The following attachments must be provided to describe the representative's activities and financial position:

• The articles of association, representative’s rules or equivalent description of the purpose of the representative’s activities 
• The adopted financial statements or an equivalent statement
• An annual report or an equivalent report

If the representative is a legal entity registered outside Finland or a natural person who does not have a Finnish personal ID code, the following attachments should also be submitted:

• Proof of the person’s record of fines and criminal record
• Certificates of fulfilment of obligations

Provide proof of the representative’s record of fines, criminal record, and certificates of fulfilment of obligations in the same way as for the applicant. In addition, submit these documents for all the natural persons who are significant shareholders and executive managers of the legal entity acting as the representative and who do not have a Finnish personal ID code.

Also, attach to your application the authorisation for the representative to act as the representative. The authorisation must be signed. The authorisation can be signed either physically or electronically. The electronic signature must be at least an advanced electronic signature in accordance with the eIDAS Regulation (EU 910/2014).