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Finland has approved 18 gambling licences ahead of its competitive market opening on July 1, 2027. The National Police Board (NPB) published the figures on October 29, with another 63 applications awaiting decisions.
Good to know
- The licences generally run from July 1, 2027, to June 30, 2032.
- Operators must complete audits and connect to the supervision system before launching.
- Application reviews now take six to eight months, longer than the original three-to-six-month estimate.
An approval does not give operators permission to start taking bets immediately. Licensed companies cannot offer or advertise gambling under the new system before July 1, 2027. Veikkaus retains its monopoly on online betting and casino until the end of June.
The same deadline also brings a regulatory handover. The NPB will handle licensing and supervision through June 2027, before the Finnish Supervisory Agency assumes those duties.
More Finnish Gambling Licences Are on the Way
The 18 approvals form only the first part of the licensing process. Finland has no application deadline or legal limit on the number of operators, and the NPB expects dozens more decisions.
The latest figures account for 81 applications. However, that does not mean 81 separate gambling groups want to enter Finland. Some groups have submitted applications through multiple companies.
Each application costs €29,000 to process in 2026. The fee applies regardless of whether the regulator approves or rejects it, and licensed operators also face an annual supervision fee once their licences take effect.
The NPB had reported 12 approvals from 79 applications on October 26, with no rejections at that point. Three days later, the approved total had reached 18 and the application count had increased by two.
Interest has built since applications opened on March 1. The board reported 50 applications in June, followed by 75 in September before issuing its first decisions.
Which Operators Have Secured Approval?
Hippos ATG Oy, Skill On Net Ltd and SuomiVeto Oy appear among the 18 licence holders.
Hippos ATG brings together Swedish operator ATG and Finnish trotting association Suomen Hippos. SuomiVeto is a new business established by BetCity.nl founders Melvin Bostelaar and Joey Singels.
The other approved companies are Cloudberry Ent Limited, KuuFlip Limited, Nivei Ursi Limited, RocketLily Ent Limited, SixthSpin Limited, YTBlue Limited, Granturo Finland Ltd and Sunflower Gaming Limited.
The list also includes Roi Roger Limited, UnionJack Limited, Buccone Trading Limited, Benelongs Ltd, Stare Straight Ltd, Pot Luck Club Ltd and Amber Entertainment Finland Ltd.
The register names the licensed legal entities rather than their parent groups or consumer brands. Separate company announcements therefore provide another part of the picture.
Wildz Group announced its approval on October 15, followed by Hippos ATG on October 19. SkillOnNet and SuomiVeto have also confirmed licences.
European Entertainment Group, which owns ComeOn Group, said on October 22 that it had received every licence it applied for. It did not identify the licensed companies.
No Veikkaus company appears among the first 18 approvals.
Why Licence Reviews Now Take Longer
The NPB processes applications in arrival order and now estimates a six-to-eight-month wait. Its original forecast was three to six months.
Most applicants operate outside Finland, which makes background checks more demanding. The board can obtain much of the information about Finnish companies directly from national registers. Foreign applicants must supply official documents themselves.
Juho Puisto, senior adviser at the NPB Gambling Administration, said a single application can require examination of hundreds of pages. Documents from different countries vary in content and format, so officials often need further explanations.
“Having to ask for further information naturally has an impact on processing times,” Puisto said.
The post Finland Adds 6 Gambling Approvals, Now 18 Licences Issued appeared first on iGaming.org.