Kasinohai Releases Study of 50 Online Casinos Ahead of Finland’s Gambling Reform

Key Points

• 44% of tested casinos silently doubled wagering requirements by calculating them on deposits plus bonuses combined, not bonuses alone.
• Multi-stage welcome packages advertised at 20x-30x reached an effective 40x once all deposit stages were completed.
• Under Finland’s new Gambling Act (Rahapelilaki 10/2026), welcome bonuses for new customers will be prohibited from 1 July 2027.

The Study That Took Real Money Into 50 Casinos

Researchers at Kasinohai did not rely on terms and conditions pages. Between 15 and 30 June 2026, they opened real accounts, deposited real money, claimed welcome bonuses, and recorded exactly what was presented at the moment of claiming. Fifty online casinos serving Finnish players were put through this process.

What they found was a consistent gap between the headline wagering requirement and what players were actually committing to. The advertised multiplier, often the first number a player sees, routinely obscures the true cost of accepting a bonus.

The full findings, dataset, and methodology are published in Kasinohai’s June 2026 bonus terms study, making it one of the most detailed real-money audits of welcome bonus mechanics conducted ahead of Finland’s market reform.

How a 30x Bonus Became 60x Without Anyone Saying So?

The most significant finding was structural. In 22 of the 50 casinos tested, or 44%, the wagering requirement was calculated on the combined value of the deposit and the bonus, rather than the bonus alone. The practical consequence of this was significant.

On a €100 deposit matched with a €100 bonus carrying a nominal 30x requirement, applying the multiplier to the bonus alone requires €3,000 in total wagers. Apply it to both, and the figure doubles to €6,000. Same bonus, same advertised requirement, entirely different obligation. A further 15 casinos, representing 30% of the sample, did not specify in the terms shown at the point of claiming which basis applied.

Multi-stage welcome packages compounded this further. Some offers were divided across successive deposits, each carrying its own independent wagering requirement. Packages promoted at 20x to 30x reached an effective 40x once all deposit stages were completed. Among the 50 casinos tested, 12 set requirements at 15x or below, 19 fell between 20x and 35x, and 19 required 40x or more.

Small Print That Could Void Everything

Beyond the calculation basis, the study recorded a range of restrictions that narrowed how players could use their bonuses in practice.

Forty-four per cent of the casinos did not state a maximum bet limit in the bonus terms available at the point of claiming. Where a limit was disclosed, it was commonly around €5 per spin. Kasinohai noted that exceeding this limit is among the more common reasons a bonus and any associated winnings are voided.

Fifty-eight per cent of the tested casinos capped bonus winnings, with the lowest observed limit falling below €100. Game restrictions were widespread; in 37 casinos, or 74%, only selected games counted toward wagering, and live casinos contributed nothing at roughly a third of the sites. Eight casinos, or 16%, set no deadline for completing the wagering requirement, leaving the obligation open-ended.

Around a quarter of the sample offered terms Kasinohai classifies as favourable to players. Those cases were the minority. The company also acknowledged that it had previously described wagering requirements in the 20x to 35x range as reasonable, and stated that classification is now under review given what the testing revealed.

What the Gambling Act Removes from the Market?

Timing of the research was well considered. The Veikkaus monopoly in Finland will be withdrawn and will be substituted by the licensing process according to the Gambling Act (Rahapelilaki 10/2026). Right after the commencement of the activity of the licensed companies from 1 July 2027, the welcome bonuses for new players will be prohibited.

Decrees on characteristics of games and maximum stake limits were prepared by the Ministry of the Interior and issued on 10 June 2026. These draft documents were available for public consideration till 5 August 2026. The 50 casinos involved in the research have licenses in Curaçao, Malta, Anjouan and Estonia. The majority of these companies will probably not apply for a license in Finland.

The Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, officially signed the new Gambling Act on 16th January 2026 after its enactment by Parliament on 16th December 2025. Online betting licenses were open for application starting from 1st March 2026. Applications were processed by the Lottery Administration of the National Police Board.

Meanwhile, Finland’s health authorities were already flagging concern. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) warned in February 2026 that problem gambling had risen from 3% to 4.2% of the adult population, approximately 151,000 people, and cautioned that a significant increase in gambling advertising was expected under the licensing model. THL launched its “2-4-2” self-assessment framework as a response, recommending players spend no more than 2% of net income on gambling and limit sessions to four days per month.

Industry Voices on What the Restrictions Mean

Jari Vähänen, Co-Founder and Partner at The Finnish Gambling Consultants, was direct about the challenge the incoming rules pose for casino operators. Speaking to iGaming Expert on 6 July 2026, he said:

“It is particularly problematic for digital casino operations that affiliate marketing and welcome bonuses are prohibited.”

The Kasinohai study was designed not to rank individual operators but to document how bonus mechanics functioned in the final stretch of the monopoly era. That documentation carries weight beyond consumer information.

Vähänen also pointed to the possibility that the legislation could be revisited depending on how the licensed market performs in practice. “If the channelisation rate remains lower than expected and the number of problems does not increase, then I expect relaxations, at least affiliates and possibly welcome bonuses, in the legislation,” he said.

Expert Analysis: A Study That Arrives at the Right Moment

The Kasinohai research lands at a moment when Finnish policymakers are still defining the precise rules of the new licensing regime, with draft decrees open for consultation until August 2026. The data gives regulators, operators, and consumer advocates something concrete: a documented record of how bonus mechanics operated in the offshore market before reform.

The gap between a headline wagering requirement and the actual obligation is not new information to industry insiders. What makes this study notable is the methodology; real-money testing rather than terms analysis produces results that reflect genuine player experience rather than stated policy. The finding that 44% of tested operators applied the requirement to both deposit and bonus, with a further 30% failing to specify which basis they used, speaks to a disclosure environment that consistently left players less informed than the headline figure suggested.

Finland is not the only European market grappling with bonus transparency. But the ban it is legislating is among the more decisive responses taken by any regulator. Whether that produces the channelisation outcome the government wants, or whether it drives players further toward unlicensed operators, may ultimately determine whether the welcome bonus ever returns to the Finnish market at all.