Finnish National Police Board Grants 12 Online Gambling Licences With Zero Rejections
Finland’s National Police Board has granted 12 online gambling licences with zero rejections from 79 applications as of 26 October 2026. The development precedes the 1 July 2027 liberalisation ending the state monopoly. Veikkaus is absent from the first approvals despite submitting an application.
SCCG Take — Zero rejections signal an efficient process that benefits compliant operators entering Finland’s high-GGR online sector. Veikkaus’s brand and database advantages will test how the liberalised regime balances incumbent strength against new competition.
The Finnish National Police Board has granted 12 licences for online gambling operations ahead of the planned liberalisation of the market on 1 July 2027. This marks the first official confirmation from the regulator of approvals in the licensing process administered by the National Police Board.
As of 26 October, 79 gambling licence applications had been submitted. 12 licences have been granted and zero have been rejected, according to reporting by iGaming Business.
The companies granted licences are:
- Hippos ATG Oy
- Sunflower Gaming Limited
- Granturo Finland Ltd (Wildz Group)
- Skill On Net Ltd
- SuomiVeto Oy
- Cloudberry Ent Limited
- SixthSpin Limited
- KuuFlip Limited
- RocketLily Ent Limited
- Nivei Ursi Limited
- YTBlue Limited
- Buccone Trading Limited
Veikkaus and Other Big Names Still Waiting to Hear
Notably absent from the list of approvals is Veikkaus, the current state monopoly operator that submitted an application to continue in the online market. Veikkaus is expected to hold an advantage from its brand recognition and existing customer database.
Veikkaus will retain its monopoly over lottery, scratch cards and land-based gaming machines when the market opens. Online gambling will then be open to private competition.
Anticipation Builds for Market Opening
Finland is one of the last European countries to end its monopoly model. The market had a total estimated GGR of €1.9 billion in 2026, according to H2 Gambling Capital data, with an estimated 81% of total market GGR from online sources.
The country is seen as a mature market with a broadly well-received regulatory regime and a stable political consensus backing gambling. The initial licensing results with no rejections point to steady progress toward the 2027 opening for licensed private operators.
Reporting: iGaming Business (iGB)
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
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