Online gambling in Finland

Current mainland model

Key date: 30 Jun 2027

Until 30 June 2027, Veikkaus Oy retains the exclusive right to organise and market gambling in mainland Finland. Other services targeting Finland remain prohibited during this transition.

Fifty applications, but no public applicant list

Key date: 8 Jun 2026

The National Police Board reported 50 applications by 8 June 2026, most from foreign applicants. The 2026 processing fee is €29,000 per application and the June announcement estimated about six months for processing. It did not name the applicants, so the total cannot be used to label individual brands as licensed.

Application, licence and launch are separate

Key date: 1 Jul 2027

Online applications have been accepted since 2 March 2026, but services and marketing under the new system cannot begin before 1 July 2027. An application therefore proves neither approval nor commercial availability; a gambling licence may be granted for no more than five years.

Licence decision, audits and supervision before launch

Under the new mainland regime, a granted licence does not complete launch preparation. The authority requires the relevant audits, delivery of audit reports before operation and completion of integration with the supervision system. Operation and marketing must also respect the start date in the actual licence decision, and cannot begin before 1 July 2027. Check the decision, audit scope and integration evidence separately.

Transitional audit accreditation is conditional

Key date: 1 Jan 2027

The authority's Danish/Swedish accreditation transition applies to audits completed before 1 January 2027, unless the assessment body's accreditation scope has been extended to the Finnish requirements by that date. Audits must still assess the Finnish rules. This is a dated accreditation condition, not a waiver of Finnish standards or automatic launch approval.

Software applications open on 1 July 2027

Key date: 1 Jul 2027

Applications for gambling software licences open on 1 July 2027. This is a supplier-licensing milestone, distinct from the earliest start of licensed gambling services on 1 July 2027. An application is not a granted software licence or proof that a particular product or supplier is approved.

Licensed software supply required from July 2028

Key date: 1 Jul 2028

From 1 July 2028, supplying software for gambling requires a gaming software licence from the supervisory authority. This is separate from the opening of software-licence applications on 1 July 2027 and the operator launch timetable. Do not infer supplier approval from an operator application or licence.

Application fee and conflicting processing targets

The English gambling/exclusive-licence application guide states a target of six to eight months, while the Finnish application FAQ states three to six months. The checked pages do not establish which target supersedes the other; neither range guarantees a decision date. The 2026 fee is EUR 29,000 per application, charged for a positive or negative decision, not a total entry cost or a quoted software-licence fee. Recording the actual decision, audit scope, supervision integration and unresolved conditions in a launch checklist is an Atlas editorial method, not another authority approval.

Application FAQ retains a different processing target

The Finnish application FAQ gives a target of three to six months, while the English main licensing guide gives six to eight. This review found no authoritative reconciliation or publication-order evidence resolving the discrepancy. The applicable current target remains unconfirmed.

Minimum gambling age in the current mainland model

For mainland Finland, the Police player FAQ states that gambling is allowed only for people aged 18 and over. That page explicitly describes the old-legislation model through 30 June 2027; it does not by itself certify later licence conditions.

Åland remote permission and supervision

The 31 January 2024 Åland decision confirms Paf’s permission to conduct games and lotteries via electromagnetic waves from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2026. It also records that the Åland Government assumed supervision of lotteries from 1 January 2024.

Åland ATG venue permission is separate from remote permission

The 19 May 2026 decision grants Paf permission to conduct betting with ATG from 19 May 2026 to 31 August 2031, replacing the earlier 2021 ATG permission. It is venue-based: the annex lists five venues, while condition 2 also allows additional venues. When venues change, condition 3 requires Paf to send the Åland Government an updated annex of current venues once a year. This decision does not extend the separate remote permission.