Key Points
- Hippos ATG thinks it’s just got its Finnish licence but the regulator hasn’t actually confirmed a single thing.
- Finland had 75 licence applications by October 22nd, though some companies might have tried their luck more than once.
- Hippos ATG is launching without its own betting database while Veikkaus is the clear winner with 2.7 million registered customers.
A Licence Pops Up On Social Media Not In Any Official Announcement
Finland’s latest gambling licence was announced in a pretty unusual way it appears on social media first.
Hippos ATG, the joint venture between Sweden’s AB Trav och Galopp and the Finnish trotting body Suomen Hippos, announced the licence on October 19th. According to a report in iGB, a shared document says the licence is good for five years which is the top end of the legal limit.
Finland’s official licensing guidance says a gambling licence can’t be more than five years long at a time but so far no one from the National Police Board, the body that currently handles the licensing, has said a word about any individual decisions.
The CEO Thinks This is the Biggest Decision And He’s Been Waiting a Long Time
CEO Mikael Bäcke didn’t hide his excitement when the news came out. “We always knew we had the conditions to get a licence sorted” he said in a public statement.
And then he said the really important bit that getting the approval was the key to everything else. “A positive decision is what we really need to get going in the market so this is a big deal for us.”
He’s pretty confident that getting in so early helped. European Gaming reports that the company applied on March 2nd, just the day after applications opened. That was way back in 2023 and back then they were expecting the whole process to take about 10 months.
The licence itself covers all sorts of things horse betting, sports betting, online casino games and Bäcke reckons this is a major moment both because he knew they had a good chance and because they applied early.
But it’s a big but having the licence doesn’t mean they can go live on the market just yet. They can’t go online until July 1st 2027, after all the audits are done and they’re linked up to the authority’s supervision system.
So Who Owns Hippos ATG and Who Gets the Profits
On paper it looks like it’s a 50/50 split but when it comes down to it Suomen Hippos gets 60% of the profits and ATG gets 40%.
And that’s pretty interesting because the Finnish share is pumped back into domestic racing and breeding. It all makes sense when you think about it a racing body wanted its own betting company so it could make some money for itself and boost the racing industry.
Bäcke even said in an interview that the current monopoly had left the Finnish horse racing market a bit behind. He reckons that with them coming in, it’ll be a great opportunity for both ATG and Suomen Hippos. And then he mentioned that Suomen Hippos has “a very close relationship” with 200,000 horse racing fans which is probably just a nice way of saying they need those customers.
Seventy-Five Applications, Not Seventy-Five Rivals
The Finnish betting market Hippos ATG enters is already saturated, although not as much as the number in the title would suggest. The Finnish regulator received 75 licence applications by 22 September, compared to 50 applications in June.
Applications are not operators; there are different types of licences offered in Finland, so some applicants can have applied for more than one.
The interest was higher than expected. A researcher from the University of Helsinki said the regulator expected to receive between 40 and 60 applications.
No limit on the number or deadline is set, and all applications satisfying the requirements will be accepted. Behind those lies Veikkaus, the revenue of which in 2025 is reported to be €936.3 million from sales from 2.7 million registered clients. In a country of about 5.7 million people, it is difficult to compete.
A Fight That Started Long Before the License Was Received
The fight between ATG and Veikkaus started much earlier than any license existed. Back in June 2025, ATG complained to Finland’s competition authorities about the abuse of dominant position.
The reason was that Veikkaus reduced cooperation on Swedish trotting bets. ATG also warned that, with a database of more than 2.6 million people, Veikkaus would get a head start in cross-selling.
Back then, Veikkaus denied the accusations. 16 months have passed since then, but the database dispute still affects the market with the launch happening in just eight months.
Marketing Requirements May Make the Difference
Still, even the license is not enough without means to attract the player. Finland restricts affiliations, sponsors, and influencer marketing and welcomes welcome bonuses and other forms of marketing. Hippos ATG’s chief compliance officer, Antti Koivula, sees the potential flaw in that approach.
Speaking about affiliate restrictions in Finland, he said: “If licensed operators cannot use these channels, unlicensed operators will.”
Consultant Jari Vähänen provided an interesting figure in the same report, saying that 50%-90% of casino clients came through affiliates. This estimate belongs to the industry but is not backed by any official data.
For an operator without its betting base, these restrictions hurt most. Veikkaus has its client relationships established already.
Upcoming Releases Until 2 July 2027
Over the next months, we shall see if the company’s statements translate into reality. As per Yogonet, the regulator did not comment on how many decisions the process would reach before the market launch.
Assuming a processing period of six to eight months, the applications made later may not receive an operator status for the market launch date. Companies trading in the industry on 2 July 2027 will differ from those in December.
Analysis: ATG Understands Monopolies Intimately
In our view, the most ironic twist in the case is its complainant. The company was created by the Swedish state back in 1974 and had the country’s horse betting monopoly until 2019.
The owner of the company is Sweden’s trotting and galloping associations, not the state. However, according to GGB Magazine, until April 2025, six of the eleven board members were appointed by the Swedish government.
Therefore, if ATG claims that the state-backed operator skews the playing field, it makes a reasonable point. Still, we have to remember that the complainant is far from neutral as the company grew due to the monopoly it now protests about.
It does not mean that we agree less with the complainant. Veikkaus enters the new market with its brand and clientele, which no newcomer can buy.
We are concerned more about the lack of transparency. As two companies have already applied for licences, it is strange that the official licensing agency has not disclosed any decisions yet.
We believe that Finnish gamblers should know the official list of licensed operators before the campaign launches. Screenshots and press releases are not the best way of presenting a regulated market.
As for marketing, we side with the critics with reservations. The transition to the black market is only a forecast and Finland may still prove its doubters wrong.
Hippos ATG’s main asset may be its customers’ loyalty. It is yet to be seen how 200,000 racing fans can resist 2.7 million Veikkaus clients.
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