Finland's National Police Board grants 18 gambling licences ahead of July 2027 market opening
Finland has issued 18 licences under its new Gambling Act, with 63 applications still under review before the market opens on 1 July 2027.
Finland’s National Police Board has granted 18 licences under the country’s new Gambling Act, with 63 more applications still under review, the board said. The list was published on 29 October 2026, eight months before the market opens to licensed competition on 1 July 2027.
The licences are valid from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2032, unless otherwise specified, according to the board.
Licensed operators
The 18 licensed companies are Cloudberry Ent Limited, KuuFlip Limited, Nivei Ursi Limited, RocketLily Ent Limited, SixthSpin Limited, YTBlue Limited, Granturo Finland Ltd, Hippos ATG Oy, Skill On Net Ltd, Sunflower Gaming Limited, SuomiVeto Oy, Roi Roger Limited, UnionJack Limited, Buccone Trading Limited, Benelongs Ltd, Stare Straight Ltd, Pot Luck Club Ltd, and Amber Entertainment Finland Ltd.
Hippos ATG is a joint venture between Swedish operator ATG and Finnish trotting association Suomen Hippos. SuomiVeto is a new operator set up by BetCity.nl founders Melvin Bostelaar and Joey Singels.
European Entertainment Group, owner of ComeOn Group, said on 22 October that it had received all the licences it applied for, but did not name the companies.
Application process
Six companies have been added since 26 October, when the board confirmed 12 licences from 79 applications and no rejections. The board says each application is taking six to eight months to process. Each application costs €29,000 to process in 2026.
There is no application deadline and no legal cap on the number of operators, and the board says it expects dozens more licence decisions.
Licence holders can start offering and marketing gambling no earlier than 1 July 2027, and only once the required audits are done and they have connected to the board’s supervision system, the board said.
The board remains the licensing authority until the end of June 2027, after which the Finnish Supervisory Agency takes over licensing and supervision.
None of the 18 licences has gone to a Veikkaus company. The state-owned operator Veikkaus keeps its monopoly on online betting and casino until the end of June 2027.
Sources
- European Gaming · Industry media · primary source ·
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