Key Points
- Only 18 of 81 hopefuls have got their licence and we’re expecting each one to take a whopping six to eight months.
- The regulator gives out the company names, but then keeps mum about which big brands will be operating under them.
- Veikkaus still hasn’t got any licence for the competitive market, but they’ve already gone ahead and announced a new brand, Viabet, which is set to launch on 1 July 2027, a couple of years away.
Turns out Cloudberry, KuuFlip, Nivei Ursi, RocketLily, SixthSpin and YTBlue have all got their Finnish gambling licences now. But we still have no idea which brands they’ll be running or who owns them. These are just a few of the names on the growing list, but there are still loads more waiting to hear about.
Just 18 Licences, But 63 Files Still Waiting in the Wings
We got an update on 29 October when Finland’s National Police Board dropped its latest list. It shows 63 still in the dark, out of a whopping 81. This means a lot of corporate groups have submitted multiple applications through different companies.
Each licence is good for 5 years, from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2032, unless the board decides to do otherwise. And just to make things more confusing, the regulator’s list has gone and added a 19th entry, Atlantic Games Malta Ltd, but we still have no idea how many applicants there are in total.
Wildz Group was the first to spill the beans on 15 October, announcing they’d been awarded an award (yeah, weird wording there). Their chief exec, Sam Brown, called it a “welcome reward”. Then Hippos ATG got in on the action on 19 October, they’re actually a joint venture between Sweden’s ATG and Finland’s trotting body, Suomen Hippos.
The board itself confirmed its own numbers on 26 October, 12 licences approved from 79 applications and zero rejections. Then 6 more approvals popped up 3 days later, so it’s looking like things are moving slowly, but surely.
The number of applications itself has grown, we were up to 50 by 8th June, but now we’re on 81 by 29th October.
6 months a File, and the Estimate Keeps On Stretching
Things are getting ready to change in Finland, as they’re about to ditch the state monopoly that Veikkaus has been running over online betting and casino gambling. A new law, the Gambling Act, was passed way back on 16 December 2025, and the applications have been open since 1 March 2026.
By the 22nd September the board had 75 applications and hadn’t made a decision on any of them. Then just 5 weeks later they had approved 18. Back in May, there were rumours that applicants could expect a decision in 3 to 6 months, but that was way off the mark.
The board is now warning that some applications might take even longer.
According to Juho Puisto, a senior adviser at the board’s Gambling Administration, the paperwork involved is a real red tape nightmare.
“Each licence application can involve wading through hundreds of pages of documents,” Puisto said.
Add in the fact that documents from other countries can be a real mixed bag in terms of content and presentation, and you can see how things can get held up.
“It’s only natural that asking for more info has an impact on how long it takes to process,” Puisto said.
Why So Many Apps Are Expected To Turn Up?
H2 Gambling Capital reckon Finland’s gross gaming revenue is gonna hit about €1.9 billion in 2026. Most of that, 81% to be exact, will come from online gambling.
NEXT.io reports that Veikkaus raked in €936.3 million in sales revenue back in 2025 and had 2.7 million registered customers. But registered customers don’t necessarily mean active players. New operators shouldn’t assume that figure is how many people are just itching to switch to their platforms.
Janne Nikkinen, a researcher from the University of Helsinki, told Yle that the earlier guesstimates of 40 to 60 apps had been overly optimistic. Some applicants might miss out on getting a licence, he told NEXT.io, but he reckons the chances of that are pretty slim.
Who’s Behind the Big Names?
The National Police Board puts out the names of licence-holding companies, but doesn’t reveal who’s actually behind the gambling brand. So you get names like Cloudberry Ent Limited and KuuFlip Limited, and that’s about it. Players get no idea which platforms are going to be entering the Finnish market.
European Entertainment Group announced on 22 October that comeOn had got all the licences it applied for. But the company doesn’t say which legal entities are behind those licences.
NEXT.io’s breakdown, and this is just industry reporting, not confirmed yet by the regulator, says comeOn is behind six of the 18 approved licences: Cloudberry, KuuFlip, Nivei Ursi, RocketLily, SixthSpin and YTBlue.
The same breakdown lists Nordplay Group and Blixx Gaming with three licences apiece, while six other groups have got one licence each. Of course, these corporate groupings are just based on industry reporting, so the ownership links are still a bit murky.
Not all licence holders are established gambling operators. Case in point is SuomiVeto, a brand new company started up by the founders of BetCity.nl.
Paying the Entry Fee, €29,000 Please
In 2026, applying for a licence comes with a €29,000 processing fee, and you’ve got to pay that no matter what happens. That’s just the way it is.
With 81 applications, that would add up to a cool €2.35 million. That’s a calculation based on the number of applications and the published fee, not actually the money the regulator collects.
Once the market is open, licensed operators will have to pay tax on 22% of their gross win. That’s a monthly self-assessment and payment.
Operators will also have to pay an annual supervision fee, and that ranges from €4,000 to €434,000. If you’ve got several licences, you’ll have to pay the fee for each one. The first year’s a bit of a special case, it includes a €10,000 base fee that gets factored in against your audited figures later on.
Finland’s not setting any deadline or limit on how many operators can apply, and the board is actually expecting more.
A Licence Is Not a Launch Permit
Even after obtaining a licence, the operator does not automatically have permission to accept bets. A necessary audit needs to be completed and a connection to the regulatory authority’s supervision system should be established.
Verification of identity will become obligatory for all gaming, with the legal age limit remaining at 18 years old. The operators will not be allowed to introduce or promote any games until 1 July 2027.
Online gambling will only be available to players who are permanent residents of the mainland territory of Finland. The use of licensed software will become obligatory from 1 July 2028.
In addition, certain restrictions will be imposed on bonuses. Moderation in providing bonuses will be required from operators, who will need to offer equal bonuses to their regular customers. The bonuses can neither be exchanged for cash nor can the wagering requirements be more than five times the amount of the bonus. Operators cannot also make bonuses dependent on time spent or money gambled by the customers.
The marketing of gambling operators will be heavily restricted as well. Influencer and telephone marketing campaigns will not be permitted. Violations can result in a stop order, fine, or even revocation of a licence.
The licensing functions will be transferred from the National Police Board to the Finnish Supervisory Authority on 1 July 2027.
Veikkaus Holds Back as Viabet Develops
Not a single licence out of the total 18 approved licences was issued to a Veikkaus operator despite Veikkaus applying for the licences as well. The monopoly on online betting and casino gambling will remain in effect until 30 June 2027.
Regardless of the outcome of the licence application, Veikkaus will continue to hold its monopoly in lottery, scratch card and land-based gambling.
Veikkaus introduced its Viabet brand on 29 October. According to the operator, the brand will be launched by Veikkaus in Finland and Denmark on 1 July 2027. The operator will develop, own, and run the brand.
“Launching the Viabet brand is a strategically significant step for us,” said Veikkaus’ CEO Olli Sarekoski.
Expert analysis: Spotless Record That Doesn’t Mean Much
The absence of rejections seems to be quite a good indicator. For us, this fact is more associated with the timing of the applications.
According to a records request by Yle, all 12 companies in the first group submitted their applications before 29 March, as reported by iGaming Times. We assume that the absence of rejections has more to do with the timing of the submissions rather than with the approach to the assessment process.
The researcher Nikkinen might be correct that the number of rejections would be quite low. However, considering that the applications contain hundreds of pages with documents from multiple countries, there is room for mistakes and further verification. Later applications in the queue will serve as a good example.
Moreover, the fact that the brand names are absent from the regulator’s list is a flaw. The players and payment companies are unable to find any link between a gambling brand and a licence since the register contains just the name of a limited company.
According to iGaming Times, a comprehensive public register won’t become available until 1 July 2027, when the new agency starts its activities. In our opinion, it is reasonable to make sure that the brand name and the website domain are indicated in the register along with the license.
It is likely that the shift of the market launch from January to July 2027 gives enough time to process the applications. In any case, it is evident that the increasing queue takes that additional time.
From the point of view of applicants, the expenses and delays are a challenge. Each application is priced at €29,000, takes longer than was planned initially and leads to a loss of the payment if it is rejected. The payment is not a guarantee of an approval or a timely decision regarding the market entry.
Our calculations show that an application submitted currently might be assessed in the period from late April till late June 2027 in case the board manages to meet the target of 6-8 months. Late applicants would have to make preparations for audits and connection to the supervision system in the shortest period of time prior to 1 July.
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