Which Casino License to Choose as a Finnish Player

Finnish people have ample choice of online casinos, but due to the state’s monopoly on gambling, most of them are based abroad. There are new legislative changes that would open the market to new licenced online casinos in Finland, but in the meantime, we will explore what casino licenses Finnish players can trust when they play at offshore casinos.

The Legal Landscape in Finland

Before we begin exploring the various casino licenses issued by reputable gambling authorities outside Finland, we should examine the legal landscape in regards to gambling in the Nordic country.

Gambling is legal in Finland and this includes both land-based and online gambling. In fact, Finnish gambling legislation does not differ based on technology, meaning that the words “land-based” and “online” don’t even appear in the text, instead gambling is simply legal.

The main law governing gambling activities in Finland is the Lotteries Act of 2001 which has had many supplementary provisions added over the years. The main Finnish regulator of gambling is Arpajaishallinto, or in English, the Ministry of the Interior and the Gambling Administration of the National Police Board.

While Finnish law allows for all types of gambling (casino games, sports betting, bingo and lottery), there is a reason why Finnish gamblers often find themselves playing at offshore casino sites; the state has a monopoly over gambling with only the Finnish government-owned company Veikkaus Oy being allowed to offer gambling games in the country.

Veikkaus Oy owns one of the two land-based casinos in the country, Casino Helsinki (the other casino, Paf, is owned by the regional government of Åland) and it has the exclusive right to offer online sports betting and casino games, along with bingo and lottery.

As you can imagine, Finns are not happy with the arrangement because they only have one Finnish-regulated online casino to play at – the one operated by Veikkaus Oy. This means fewer available games and promotions, along with other limits on deposits and withdrawals which come part and parcel of gambling at a state-owned site.

Finnish players expressed their dissatisfaction with the existing model in a 2019 survey conducted on behalf of Kasino Curt, a casino affiliate business.

The majority of surveyed Finns (31%) shared that they disliked the state monopoly on gambling and instead preferred a license-based model where commercial operators could apply for a Finnish gambling license. At the same time, 27% of polled Finns said they liked Veikkaus Oy, while the rest of the surveyed Finns (42%) had no opinion on the matter.

Curiously enough, the CEO of Veikkaus Oy, Olli Sarekoski, joined the fight on the side of the anti-monopolists and confessed that Veikkaus Oy simply could not keep up with the demand of the market and deliver good gambling products to Finns.

Additionally, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), which represents EU-licensed gambling operators, asked the Finnish government to end the monopoly in 2020; the efforts of EGBA were supported by the European Union. Finland became the sole EU country to still have a monopoly-based gambling system when Hungary ended its own monopoly system in 2017.

As a result of pressure at home and abroad, the Finnish government finally announced plans to replace the existing monopoly model with a license model, allowing commercial online casinos to apply for licenses from the Arpajaishallinto and operate legally. However, the regulator has not yet licensed any gambling operator.

Still, the Finnish government promises to open the doors to commercial online gambling by 1 January 2026, so you can expect to see new casinos popping up within a few short years.

The Best Casino Licenses for Finnish Players

Since it would take some time before the Finnish regulator licenses any online casinos, Finnish players still have to rely on offshore online casinos. The law allows Finns to play at overseas casinos, as long as these online casinos have not been specifically blacklisted by the government.

The Finnish government uses a PSP-blocking system to stop traffic to blacklisted casino operators, so if you can access the site with your Finnish IP address, this means that you can play there.

However, not all online casinos are safe, and sadly, there are still many scam sites out there. The best way you can protect yourself against fraudulent operators is by only playing at approved licensed casinos regulated by reputable gambling authorities.

In order to find out whether an online casino is licensed, look at the bottom of the casino site’s page to find the logo and/or name of the gambling agency regulating the operator. You can perform an additional check by looking at the registry of the stated regulator.

There are many different gambling regulators and some are stricter than others, so we naturally recommend those. In the following sections, we will tell you a bit more about the two top regulators of gambling in Europe, namely the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission.

The Malta Gaming Authority

If you’re an avid online gambler, you have probably stumbled on casino sites licensed by the MGA. The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is the main regulator of gambling in Malta and one of the biggest regulators of online casinos in the European Union. As of now, the MGA regulates 333 online gambling operators based in the European Union.

Online casino operators are dying to be licensed by the MGA because the regulator is known for its rigorous vetting process which weeds out fraudulent and mediocre gambling sites, so consequently, operators with MGA licenses are considered some of the safest gambling sites.

Additionally, just because an online casino was once issued a license by the MGA, it does not mean that it can keep that license in perpetuity. The MGA is famous for revoking licenses to operators which believed they were above the law. This makes the MGA one of the most trust-worthy gambling regulators.

The UK Gambling Commission

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is the regulator of gambling in the UK. However, British gambling law requires all online casinos and sportsbooks to hold a UKGC license if they provide services to players in the UK, so the gambling agency regularly licenses operators based abroad.

This is why you can often see online casinos from other countries holding a UKGC license. What’s more, the UK is not in the EU anymore, so the UKGC can license operators based outside the EEA. It has already done that by issuing licenses to various American gambling operators.

The logo of UKGC on a casino site stands as a mark of excellency. The UKGC is notorious for its long multi-step application process that bars second-rate gambling operators from tarnishing its legacy. The regulator carefully checks the identity of the business owners, their finances, and reputation in the industry among other things.

Conclusion

While you are waiting for the launch of commercial online casinos in Finland, you can always trust online operators regulated by respectable gambling agencies like the MGA and the UKGC.

FAQ

Thank you for reading this article on the best casino licenses for Finnish players! Below you can also find the most common questions and answers on the topic: