Illegal gambling

Has an online casino advertisement caught your eye? Have you wondered whether to use a foreign gambling company to place bets? Before you start gambling, you should always check whether it is a legally organised gambling activity.

Until the end of June 2027, Veikkaus Oy has the exclusive right to offer and market gambling in mainland Finland. All other gambling services offered by other operators are prohibited and punishable under the Criminal Code if their activities target Finland.

From the beginning of July 2027, gambling services can be provided with a licence from the supervisory authority. You can then identify legal gambling businesses by their licence numbers.

A legitimate gambling service provider will always provide the following information: 

• Their licence number
• The identification of the supervisory authority
• The age limit for gambling

In addition, a legitimate gambling service provider will provide information on gambling management tools and service providers that can help with gambling problems. The rules and instructions of the game and information such as the probability of winning are also clearly communicated to players.

The information described above will help you distinguish between legitimate gambling services and illegal gambling from 1 January 2027. Gambling operators must provide information in Finnish and Swedish. The information must be easily accessible at the gambling premises, both online and in physical locations.

Why is it important to provide a licence number?

Providing the licence number, the identification of the supervisory authority, and the other information described above indicates that the supervisory authority is aware of the gambling activity. In practice, this also means that the authority monitors the activity and compliance with gambling legislation.

It is not advisable to use unlicensed gambling operators, as consumers participating in illegal gambling are not protected by Finnish law. It is also worth noting that any winnings from unlicensed sites are taxable income for the player and must be reported to the Tax Administration.

A licence is required to market gambling if the marketing targets Finland. All forms of direct and indirect advertising and other promotional activities can be considered as marketing.

Gambling causes a wide range of social, health and economic harms to society. It is therefore important that the organisation and marketing of gambling can be subject to controls and restrictions.

The purpose of gambling legislation and authority supervision is to ensure the legal protection of people involved in gambling, prevent crime and abuse, and prevent and reduce the harms of gambling. To achieve these objectives, it is important that licensed gambling operators pay lottery taxes and supervision fees in Finland based on their margins and thus contribute to the financing of the system.

What should I do if I have doubts about the legality of a gambling service?

If the licence number or other information listed above is not provided, you can ask the gambling operator or marketer to provide it. A legitimate gambling operator will always be able to answer questions about things such as supervision and provide their licence number. If an operator cannot provide this information, it may be offering illegal gambling services.

If you wish, you can also contact the supervisory authority to check the accuracy of the licence information. The National Police Board will publish the details of valid licences on these pages. For example, you can check this list if you have any doubts about whether a licence exists or is valid.

Organising gambling illegally in Finland is a criminal offence. You can therefore report suspected unlicensed gambling or marketing of gambling to the police if you wish.

The National Police Board may also intervene in unlawful gambling activities on the basis of its own observations or those made by external observers. The National Police Board has the power to intervene in illegal gambling activities by, for example, banning the provision or marketing of gambling services. A ban may be imposed on a provider of gambling services and also a marketer of illegal gambling services.

To report suspected illegal gambling or gambling marketing to the National Police Board, please send a message to arpajaishallinto@poliisi.fi.