It follows the Finnish government’s June 2023 commitment to open up its monopoly-based gaming market, in the face of persistently low channelisation and continuing issues with problem gambling.

Finnish gaming law expert Antti Koivula told NEXT.io: “It’s great that the project is nearly on its original schedule and the publication of the draft law was not delayed further.

“It should be highlighted that this is not a final version of the law, and it is anticipated that more modifications than on previous occasions will be implemented after the now-beginning hearing phase.

“It is now up to the interest groups to provide their statements for the benefit of the legislative reform process within the given deadline of August 18, a task with which we will gladly assist.

“That being said, this draft law already provides a good overall picture of what is to come.”

The legislation was written by a working group led by the Ministry of Interior and under the direction of a political steering group consisting of several state secretaries.

Veikkaus’ exclusive and competitive activities will be operated by two separate companies held within the group.

The Ministry of the Interior said this would give them more freedom if the country opted to sell off part of its stake in future.

Marketing and KYC

The draft law, which runs to 417 pages, included KYC provisions detailing how players would be registered, and their identity and place of residence verified.

The legislation outlined an 18-year-old minimum age for gambling and proposed a centralised self-exclusion system.

Rules surrounding marketing and sponsorship activities are also described in the bill, with licensed operators permitted to advertise in various channels subject to certain restrictions.

Koivula added: “There is a relatively liberal approach to marketing in terms of mass media and sponsoring; however, the use of bonuses, affiliates, and influencers will be banned.”

The ministry emphasised marketing should be “moderate” in terms of volume, scope, visibility and repetitiveness.

Games deemed “high-risk” would be banned from outdoor marketing, as would games set to continue under the Veikkaus monopoly.

As is the case in peer countries, marketing could not be targeted to minors or other vulnerable persons.

Regulation and enforcement

Regulation is to be under the control of a proposed Finnish Supervisory Agency operating in the administrative branch of the Ministry of Finance.

This would take away the current regulatory authority from the National Police board, which currently oversees the market.

The new authority will be empowered with a broad set of powers to regulate the market.

Koivula outlined that applicants licence applicants will have no cooling-off period per se, but past infringements will lead to the rejection of licence applications.

It will be able to combat unlawful activities with administrative sanctions to prohibit the running and marketing of gambling games.

The proposed agency would also be able to cancel licences and impose penalty payments, and be permitted to make test purchases in its supervisory duties.

It will also be responsible for ensuring that operators follow legislation concerning the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

The draft law includes provisions permitting the use of ISP and payment blocking to restrict gambling businesses and marketing from operating outside the licensing system.

Finland’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Health would continue to monitor, study and assess gambling games and associated harms.

These tasks would be carried out by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, as commissioned by the ministry.

Discretionary government grants would also be available to study the prevention and reduction of gambling-related harms.

Next steps

The ministry said the aim is to submit the proposal to parliament in the spring session of 2025.

If approved, the new system would be implemented in a staged rollout, with licence applications open by the beginning of 2026.

Veikkaus would maintain its monopoly until the end of that year, with licensed gambling operators launching their offerings by 1 January 2027.

B2B licence applications would be available from the beginning of 2027, with the supplier licensing framework to apply from the beginning of 2028.

The Ministry of Interior is requesting comments from stakeholders and interested parties on the draft law with the consultation period due to close on 18 August.