24 Operators File for Finnish iGaming Licences as €1.9B Market Prepares to Open in 2027

Twenty-Four Operators Queue for Finland's New iGaming Licences — €1.9B Market Opens in 2027

Finland's National Police Board has received 24 licence applications in the first month since opening its online gambling application window, confirming strong early operator interest in one of Europe's last remaining major state monopoly markets.

What Happened

As of March 30, 2026, 24 companies had submitted licence applications to Finland's National Police Board — the regulatory authority overseeing the country's new multi-operator online gambling framework. The application window opened March 1, 2026, following the January 16 signing of the new Gambling Act that ends Veikkaus's decades-long state monopoly.

The authority estimates 3–6 months to process each application, with the first licences expected to be granted in late 2026 ahead of the scheduled market launch on July 1, 2027. Financial terms: a flat 22% GGR tax plus an annual supervision fee tiered between €4,000 and €434,000 depending on operator scale. Industry insiders project 40–50 final licensees, with each permitted to operate multiple brands under a single licence. The Finnish online gambling market is projected at approximately €1.9 billion in total GGR, with 81% generated through online channels.

Why It Matters

Finland's market liberalisation is one of the most anticipated regulatory events in European iGaming this decade. Approximately 50% of Finnish online gambling currently occurs on unlicensed offshore platforms — the highest proportion in Northern Europe — representing the single largest concentration of capturable black-market revenue in the EU. The 24 early applications suggest major European operators are treating Finland as a priority market, even factoring in the affiliate marketing ban and advertising restrictions built into the new law.

Industry Context

Finland joins a wave of Northern and Central European markets that have transitioned from state monopoly to multi-operator licensing in the past decade. Sweden (2019), Netherlands (2021), and Germany (ongoing) have all followed this path. Finland's 22% GGR tax is meaningfully lower than the UK's new 40% RGD, making it one of the more financially attractive regulated frameworks for operators in the current European landscape.