Gambling Laws and Regulations covering issues in Finland of Relevant Authorities and Legislation, Application for a Licence and Licence Restrictions

ICLG - Gambling Laws and Regulations - Finland Chapter covers common issues in gambling laws and regulations – including relevant authorities and legislation, application for a licence, licence restrictions, digital media, enforcement and liability.

Published: 28/11/2023 4. 1. Relevant Authorities and Legislation 5. 2. Application for a Licence and Licence Restrictions 6. 3. Online/Mobile/Digital/Electronic Media 7. 4. Enforcement and Liability 8. 5. Anticipated Reforms 1.1 Which entities regulate what type of gambling and social/skill gaming activity in your jurisdiction?

1.2 Specify: (i) the law and regulation that applies to the Relevant Products in your jurisdiction; and (ii) – in broad terms – whether it permits or prohibits the offer of Relevant Products to persons located in your jurisdiction.

The Finnish Lotteries Act (1047/2001) lays down the main provisions on the Relevant Products and on the existing monopoly system granting the exclusive right to provide gambling services in Finland to the wholly state-owned operator Veikkaus Oy (“Veikkaus”). The Finnish Lotteries Act defines lottery as an activity in which participants may win a prize of monetary value based on chance and in which there is a charge for participation. Gambling is defined as a lottery in which participants may win money prizes.

The Finnish Lotteries Act is complemented by the following main Decrees:

• Government Decree on Lotteries (1345/2001).
• Government Decree on Games Operated by Veikkaus Oy (1414/2016).
• Government Decree on the Advisory Board on Gambling (658/2017).
• Ministry of Interior’s Decree on rules of Veikkaus’ games (7593/2022).

Further laws and regulations applicable to the Relevant Products include:

• Lottery Tax Act (552/1992).
• Finnish Criminal Code (39/1889).
• Consumer Protection Act (38/1978).
• Act on Electronic Communication Services (917/2014).
• GDPR and Data Protection Act (1050/2018).
• Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (444/2017, as amended, hereinafter referred to as the “AML Act”).

The special case of the Åland Islands:

• Act on the Autonomy of Åland (1144/1991)
• Åland’s Provincial Law on Lotteries (10/1966).

Further laws and regulations applicable to the exclusive right holder, Veikkaus, and other relevant legislation:

• State Shareholdings and Ownership Steering Act (1368/2007).
• Act on the Financing of Education and Culture (1705/2009).
• Act on Discretionary Government Grants (688/2001).
• Act on Virtual Currency Providers (572/2019).
• Limited Liability Companies Act (624/2006).

Kindly note that the above list is not comprehensive.

2. Application for a Licence and Licence Restrictions

2.1 What regulatory licences, permits, authorisations or other official approvals (collectively, “Licences”) are required for the lawful offer of the Relevant Products to persons located in your jurisdiction?

No gambling licences are available in Finland. According to the Finnish Lotteries Act, Veikkaus, a state-owned private limited liability company, currently has the exclusive right to provide gambling services in mainland Finland. Gambling services falling under the exclusive right of Veikkaus cover both land-based and online gambling operations.

The Åland Islands is an autonomous region of Finland that has its own regional Government regulating gambling. Like Veikkaus, which has its exclusive right to organise gambling in mainland Finland, Penningautomatförening (“PAF”) similarly operates gambling in the Åland Islands.

According to the current Government programme, Finland will introduce a licensing system covering digital casino games and digital sports betting at the latest in the beginning of 2026, while the other game types will remain under Veikkaus’ exclusive rights. Specific details regarding the licensing system are yet to be determined.

2.2 Where Licences are available, please outline the structure of the relevant licensing regime.

No licences are available.

2.3 What is the process of applying for a Licence for a Relevant Product?

No licences are available.

2.4 Are any restrictions placed upon licensees in your jurisdiction?

No licences are available.

2.5 Please give a summary of the following features of any Licences: (i) duration; (ii) vulnerability to review, suspension or revocation.

No licences are available.

2.6 By Relevant Product, what are the key limits on providing services to customers? Please include in this answer any material promotion and advertising restrictions.

Only the exclusive right holder, Veikkaus, may provide and market gambling services legally in Finland. There are several restrictions concerning the Relevant Products due to responsible gambling requirements (see question 2.8 below).

For instance, all online customers must:

• be at least 18 years of age;
• have a Finnish bank account;
• have a Finnish social security number; and
• have a permanent address in Finland.

Veikkaus is obliged to verify a person’s identity and place of residence when they are opening a player account to ascertain that the player is not a minor and that the territorial scope of the legislation of another state or region is honoured. Slot machines in stores, restaurants, kiosks, services stations and other locations outside gambling halls and casinos have also been subject to compulsory authentication since early 2021. For compulsory authentication, it is enough to present a Veikkaus customer card and it is not necessary to provide ID.

It is prohibited for Veikkaus to offer free spins or free bets to real money games. Further, there are other product-specific, player-specific, game genre and game type quantitative and temporal restrictions due to responsible gambling measures (see question 2.8 below). Veikkaus has the following compulsory loss limits in place: €500/day; €2,000/month; and €15,000/year. From the beginning of 2024, the compulsory loss limits will apply to all Veikkaus games.

Furthermore, all Veikkaus marketing activities must be carried out in a socially responsible manner.

2.7 What are the tax and other compulsory levies?

According to the Lotteries Tax Act, the lottery tax is:

• 5% of the total value of winnings distributed in a bingo game, not including winnings entitling the winner to participate in a new game.
• 12% of the profit of gambling services provided by Veikkaus under the exclusive right (5.5% in 2021, 3.4% in 2022 and 5% in 2023, due to the temporary amendments made to the Lotteries Tax Act).
• 30% of the total value of prizes in regards of other lotteries.

The Finnish Lotteries Act expressly states that all the proceeds of Veikkaus are to be used for the promotion of sports, science, health and social welfare, horse breeding and equestrian sports. From the beginning of 2024, Veikkaus proceeds will be directed to the normal state procedure instead of being designated to the abovementioned causes.

2.8 What are the broad social responsibility requirements?

Preventing the disadvantages and social problems of gambling is a prerequisite laid down by the European Union (“EU”) law for limiting EU market freedoms and allowing a state-controlled gambling exclusive right system to exist in Finland. The Finnish Lotteries Act expressly states that the objective of the exclusive right system is to ensure the legal protection of gambling participants, prevent misuse and crime, and prevent and reduce the economic, social and health-related harm resulting from gambling.

There are several player protection requirements that have to be fulfilled by Veikkaus. These include, for instance, supervision of the legal age limit (18 years of age for gambling) to prevent underage gambling, notifications on adverse effects of gambling given to players, introduction of self-exclusion measures, maximum stake limits, limits for daily and monthly losses (see question 2.6 above) and implementation of restrictions on operating hours of gambling venues, casinos and gambling halls. Deposits for players’ online accounts are not available between midnight and 6 am and notifications of the time spent playing have to be presented to the player regularly.

All marketing activities of the exclusive right holder, Veikkaus, must be carried out in a socially responsible manner without presenting heavy gambling in a favourable light or non-participation in gambling or moderate gambling in a negative light. Gambling may also not be marketed to minors and, therefore, marketing is prohibited, for instance, in such television and radio broadcasting that are targeted at minors.

Marketing of games that bear a particular gambling risk, such as slots, is prohibited in places other than where the games are kept available, e.g., slots in game rooms and casinos. Certain information about locations, terms and fees, the probability of winning and the winnings related to such games may, however, be provided to players.

2.9 How do any AML, financial services regulations or payment restrictions restrict or impact on entities supplying gambling?

The AML Act lays down the provisions on enhanced due diligence and detecting and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. It applies to Veikkaus as the exclusive right holder for the provision of gambling services in mainland Finland (and to PAF in the Åland Islands). The National Police Board is responsible for supervising that Veikkaus complies with the AML Act.

The AML Act lays down the provisions to carry out stricter customer verification of a person’s identity in cases where the transaction or the person involved in the transaction is suspected of being used for or involved in the financing of terrorism, there are doubts about the veracity and adequacy of a previous authentication of a customer, and a bet staked or winnings withdrawn equal or exceed the relevant monetary threshold. Veikkaus has a duty to inspect and report irregular activity, prepare risk evaluations and establish an AML compliance programme.

From the AML perspective, in addition to the above, the State Shareholdings and Ownership Steering Act (1368/2007) should be taken into consideration in the case of Veikkaus in relation to the appointment of the state representatives and operating guidelines issued to them, the exercise of the state’s right as a shareholder, etc.

2.10 Does your jurisdiction permit virtual currencies to be used for gambling and are they separately regulated?

Virtual currencies are not prohibited. The Finnish Act on Virtual Currency Providers entered into force in 2019 and imposed obligations on virtual currency providers concerning registration with the Financial Supervisory Authority (“FIN-FSA”) and compliance with the AML Act. The main objective of the Finnish Act on Virtual Currency Providers was to bring virtual currency providers within the scope of AML requirements, in line with the 5th AML Directive (“5th AMLD”).

The Payment Service Provider (“PSP”)-blocking scheme was introduced in the Finnish Lotteries Act reform of 2022 and it entered into force at the beginning of 2023. Payments from customers residing in Finland will be blocked to blacklisted gambling operators. Only the operators found to be infringing the Finnish Lotteries Act marketing prohibitions may be blacklisted by the National Police Board.

3. Online/Mobile/Digital/Electronic Media

3.1 How does local law/regulation affect the provision of the Relevant Products in online/mobile/digital/electronic form, both from: (i) operators located inside your jurisdiction; and (ii) operators located outside your jurisdiction?

According to the Finnish Lotteries Act, the exclusive right system covers the provision of the Relevant Products in the territory of Finland. Thus, the provisions of the Finnish Lotteries Act apply to lotteries that are run remotely abroad, to the extent that their tickets are sold or supplied in the territory of Finland. The same applies to lotteries that are run in the province of Åland, to the extent that their tickets are also sold or supplied in mainland Finland.

The Finnish Lotteries Act prohibits online gambling companies that operate in other countries from marketing their gambling services in the territory of Finland. Thus, the existing exclusive right system of Veikkaus also covers marketing of gambling. If gambling services are marketed from abroad, the National Police Board shall assess whether the purpose of the marketing is to promote the sales of the marketed gambling services specifically to Finnish consumers in Finland.

3.2 What other restrictions have an impact on Relevant Products supplied via online/mobile/digital/electronic means?

The PSP-blocking scheme entered into force on 1 January 2023 (see question 2.10 above).

3.3 What terminal/machine-based gaming is permitted and where?

Land-based slot machines made available for public use are regulated and subject to the exclusive right system. Slot machines have to be placed in a supervised space.

Slot machines shall not be placed in a space where their use could endanger safety or cause a public disturbance. At present, slot machines are allowed, in addition to casinos and gaming halls, in supermarkets, cafes, petrol stations, bars and other public spaces.

Provisions on the types and maximum number of slot machines and specialty gaming machines in the spaces mentioned above are laid down by Government Decree. The number of physical slot machines has been reduced drastically during the past few years and currently there are 9,000 of them in 4,500 points of sales.

4. Enforcement and Liability

4.1 Who is liable under local law/regulation?

The exclusive rights operator, Veikkaus, is liable for all gambling services it provides to players under the Finnish Lotteries Act and other relevant acts, such as relevant AML legislation.

Provisions on gambling offences and lottery offences are laid down in the Finnish Criminal Code, according to which a natural or legal person who unlawfully arranges or markets gambling can be subject to criminal sanctions. Since Veikkaus has a monopoly on the marketing of gambling, all other marketing of gambling is also prohibited and punishable.

In addition to the above, the National Police Board may also issue administrative prohibition orders to gambling operators, other entities and private individuals providing or marketing illegal gambling. Also, a conditional fine or administrative penalty may be imposed.

Players are not subject any sanction for accessing and participating in gambling on foreign online gambling sites under the Finnish law. Foreign gambling operators are not subject to any sanctions based purely on the acceptance of Finnish customers.

4.2 What form does enforcement action take in your jurisdiction?

The National Police Board is responsible for monitoring the provision and advertising of gambling in Finland. They may prohibit illegal organising or marketing of gambling in Finland and impose conditional fines and administrative penalties on the infringer. They may also forward the case for criminal proceedings if there is basis to suspect a crime.

Under the Criminal Code, persons facilitating unlawful gambling may be sentenced to a fine or to imprisonment for up to one year. Penalties for unlawful marketing consist of fines or imprisonment for up to two years. Fines or imprisonment for up to two years may be imposed for providing premises for a slot machine or casino game to be used by an unlicensed lottery operator.

4.3 Do other non-national laws impact upon liability and enforcement?

Finland is an EU Member State and directly affected by EU laws and regulations. Finland is also the only EU Member State that still has a comprehensive gambling monopoly in place.

Under EU law, a gambling monopoly can only be justified if it can be considered the best possible way to control the negative effects of gambling to ensure public order, public safety and public health and to prevent the negative effects of gambling. Whereas several operators around Europe have used EU law and EU market freedoms as a shield when providing gambling services to other EU countries, arguing that the local legislation is not in line with EU law, the European Commission confirmed in 2013 that the Finnish gambling monopoly is in accordance with EU law.

Regardless of the statement made by the European Commission back in 2013, among others, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (“FCCA”) has criticised the legitimacy of the existing state monopoly in light of EU law.

4.4 Are gambling debts enforceable in your jurisdiction?

Gambling debts are enforceable in respect of the debts incurred in the course of gambling services offered by the exclusive right holder, Veikkaus.

The Finnish Lotteries Act prohibits running lotteries in such a way that players can participate on credit.

4.5 What appetite for and track record of enforcement does your local regulatory authority have? Have fines, licence revocations or other sanctions been enforced in your jurisdiction?

The National Police Board has taken measures against Veikkaus and other companies in terms of violations of the Finnish Lotteries Act. The Lotteries Act reform of 2022 provided a considerable increase in resources for the National Police Board towards the supervision of illegal marketing carried out mostly by foreign gambling operators, affiliates, influencers and other entities. In addition, the National Police Board was given more effective tools (administrative penalties, payment blocking system) to combat illegal advertising. As a result, their enforcement appetite is currently at an all-time high.

5. Anticipated Reforms

5.1 What (if any) intended changes to the gambling law/regulations are being discussed currently?

A law was confirmed in March 2023, according to which Veikkaus proceeds will be forwarded to the normal state budget procedure from the beginning of 2024 instead of being designated to certain good causes.

Following the parliamentary elections of April 2023, the new Government’s programme was published in June, according to which Finland will abandon the gambling monopoly and shift to a partial licensing system at the latest in the beginning of 2026. The new licensing system will cover digital sports betting and digital casino games, while the other games will remain under Veikkaus’ monopoly. The specific characteristics of the new system are to be decided during the on-going process.

Production Editor’s Note

This chapter has been written by a member of ICLG’s international panel of experts, who has been exclusively appointed for this task as a leading professional in their field by Global Legal Group, ICLG’s publisher. ICLG’s in-house editorial team carefully reviews and edits each chapter, updated annually, and audits each one for originality, relevance and style, including anti-plagiarism and AI-detection tools. This chapter was copy-edited by Oliver Chang, our in-house editor.

Minna Ripatti Legal Gaming Attorneys at Law

Antti Koivula Legal Gaming Attorneys at Law

Legal Gaming Attorneys at Law

Join Chanced Social Casino today to get 20,000 GC and 2 FREE SC at sign-up. Read on to learn about the games offered, promotions, and more

This site only collects related articles. Viewing the original, please copy and open the following link:Gambling Laws and Regulations Report 2024 Finland