Finland has delayed the launch of the country’s licensed gambling market by six months to 1 July 2027 after parliament approved the country’s gambling bill today, 16 December.
The law, which is awaiting approval from President Alexander Stubb, will come into effect on 1 January 2026.
Applications for B2C licences will open in March next year. The introduction of B2B licences has also been moved to 1 July 2028.
A new Ministry of Finance-run supervisory authority overseeing licensing will take over from the country’s National Police Board in July 2026.
Parliamentarians approved the bill 158 to nine.
The market had originally been slated to go live on 1 January 2027. The delay was proposed at the start of this month in a report by the Finnish Administrative Committee.
The report called on the government to introduce a gambling ban register allowing players to set loss limits for themselves across all operators.
Opposition parties also put forward amendments to the gambling bill, but these were all rejected by parliament following a debate and 153-21 vote last Wednesday.
Changes to the bill put forward by the opposition included an increase in the minimum gambling age from 18 to 20, two-factor authentication on licensed websites, central deposits, loss limits, a ban on bonuses and a tax rate increase.
Finnish Gambling Association chair Jari Vähänen said: “The delay in the parliamentary process was primarily due to a few potential constitutional issues and disagreements over the timetable for the law’s implementation.
“There was no significant political debate over the need to change the gambling system, but the parties’ views on the emphasis on responsible gambling and on business opportunities differed as expected.
“The current right-wing government places a slightly higher emphasis on business than the left, which emphasises responsibility.
“This is also reflected in the two dissenting opinions: the Left Alliance proposed starting the legislative preparation from scratch, and the Greens proposed adding several elements of responsibility to the legal text.”
Several operators have already indicated their intention to launch in Finland, including ATG Hippos and FDJ United.
In an interview in Finnish business magazine Talouselämä, FDJ United’s Finland country manager Joel Häkämies said the Unibet parent is plotting to become a top-three operator in the market.
Finland has ramped up its efforts to end the monopoly enjoyed by Veikkaus since the Ministry of the Interior submitted exposure draft legislation in July 2024.
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State-owned Veikkaus’s monopoly will come to an end on 1 July 2027, with commercial market due to open in Nordic nation
The post Finnish parliament approves landmark gambling bill first appeared on EGR Intel.