The Future of Tax-Free Casinos When Finland Regulates the Gambling Market

Online casinos have long been incredibly popular in Finland. This is mainly because, within its borders, Finns have had a flourishing state-run monopoly on games ever since the 1940s. Since this time, casino games have been a common source of excitement for the people in the proverbial land of a thousand lakes.

In light of history, it is no wonder that the Finns’ enjoyment of local gambling services has carried over to the online casino realm as well. In fact, so much so that Finland is now in the process of opening their market up for outsiders to join. In this article, we will go over what this means for the future of tax-free casinos currently operating in the Finnish market.

The current taxation landscape

Each country has their distinctive laws on taxation. More often than not, games of luck might also fall in a different tax bracket than some other more common sources of finance.

In Finland, all winnings from state-run Veikkaus games are completely free of tax. This includes lotto games, scratchcards, horse racing, sports betting, and all the thousands of physical slot machines littered everywhere in Finland. On a side note, we should mention that most Finnish supermarkets, outside of the German Lidl, have several active slot machines in their lobbies for people to visit.

While all local games are indeed tax-free, things can get a bit different online. On the Internet, the potential tax-free nature of the games is determined based on the license that the specific online casinos operate under. The website verovapaatnettikasinot.net only lists tax-free brands. Based on EU laws, freedom from taxes can be achieved as long as the casino in question operates under a license obtained from an authority within the EU.

After Brexit, there are only two gambling authorities in the EU that can offer Finnish people tax-free wins: the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (EMTA). There used to be certain other authorities as well, but after Great Britain left the EU in 2020, casinos operating under the watchful eye of these authorities are not tax-free anymore.

Finland opening its market for competition

For the longest time, Finnish politicians would express their views on how the Finnish gambling market should be kept closed from outsiders. According to many critics, a lot of this was due to the fact that many government bodies and companies receive their funding from gambling profits. Sports, arts, and education are just some of the many sectors that have essentially benefited from Finnish people losing their money on games of luck.

Just a couple of years ago, the Finnish Veikkaus came under a lot of scrutiny due to a perceived lack of care for things pertaining to responsible gambling. After all, under EU laws, the only justification for closing down the market from outsiders is to protect people from gambling problems. The debate around Veikkaus would reach a boiling point when the company claimed that it had to strongly market itself in order to keep the money flowing and its market share at acceptable levels.

In August 2022, Veikkaus announced that it wanted to voluntarily let go of its monopoly. What this means is that a certain number of foreign online casinos will be let into the market and will be able to obtain a Finnish license for a fee.

What will happen to tax-free casinos?

When Finland starts to regulate online casinos, many of the Maltese and Estonian casinos will probably end up getting a Finnish license. However, it is still unknown how much the license will cost and what kind of benefits it will bring to those investing in it. If the licensing costs are too high and casinos lose their ability to offer customers bonuses, there is a chance that some brands might choose not to pay for the license.

Even after the Finnish license comes into effect, casinos outside of the system will not become taxed. When Sweden opened its market up, certain companies still opted to stay outside and operate from what could be considered a legal grey area.

Conclusion

Finland accepting foreign online casinos should not cause casino customers any noticeable harm. Instead, the new system is meant to benefit the state, all legal casino operators, and all those looking for a good gambling experience.

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