What is gambling?
Gambling is a business in which people play games of chance for monetary gain. It has harmful effects on society.
A game of chance is an activity in which the player can win a prize with monetary value in a game based partly or wholly on chance. Players pay to participate in games of chance.
Gambling is one form of a game of chance. Gambling is a game of chance in which the player can win money.
There are limits on who can organise gambling
Gambling carries a risk of serious financial, social and health harm. At the same time, the opportunity to win money makes gambling more appealing to people than other games of chance. For this reason, Finland has had a policy of limiting the opportunity to profit by exploiting people’s desire to gamble.
Until the end of June 2027, gambling activities in mainland Finland are subject to the Lotteries Act, which grants Veikkaus Oy the exclusive right to organise gambling.
The current gambling reform, will open up the gambling market to competition. Most parts of the new Gambling Act will enter into force at the beginning of July 2027. From then on, other operators who have a licence will also be able to organise gambling.
Applying for licences under the new Gambling Act
The transitional provisions of the new Gambling Act will allow applications for gambling licences to be submitted from 1 March 2026. However, the licences will not enter into force before 1 July 2027. Gambling activities may only begin once the licence has entered into force.
In 2026, licence applications should be submitted to the National Police Board. From July 2027, they should be submitted to the Supervisory Agency. Depending on the type of game, the organisation of gambling requires either an exclusive licence or a gambling licence. Organising or marketing gambling in Finland without a licence is not permitted.
In addition, from 1 July 2028, supplying software for gambling will require a gaming software licence from the supervisory authority. It will be possible to apply for a gaming software licence from the Supervisory Agency from the start of July 2027.
