Leadstar Media Flags Player Safety Risks in Finland’s 2027 Gambling Liberalisation

Finland’s online gambling monopoly held by Veikkaus ends in 2027. More than 50 companies have registered interest in licences for the newly regulated sector, and 18 have secured clearance from the National Police Board. Under the forthcoming rules, affiliate marketing companies will be barred from promoting licensed betting sites or online casinos, a step presented as player protection that one major affiliate network warns could prove counterproductive.

In an interview with SBC News, Jacob Ljunggren, Product Director of Leadstar Media, outlined why the affiliate prohibition may hand unregulated operators an advantage and leave players less informed. Finnish players already hold established habits with international brands operating outside the domestic system. Ljunggren argued that affiliates serve as a key channel to introduce licensed alternatives when dozens of new operators enter at once.

Affiliate Restrictions and the Risk of Backfire

Ljunggren stated that players routinely consult affiliate websites for comparisons and recommendations. From a regulatory standpoint, moving participants into the licensed system represents a core objective. Yet barring compliant affiliates from directing traffic risks ceding that space to promoters who ignore the rules and market unlicensed products as equivalent.

He likened the situation to “six-point games” in football: allowing affiliates could simultaneously grow the regulated base and erode the unregulated share. “By prohibiting affiliates, you risk losing on both sides.” Ljunggren noted that companies prepared to support licensed operators will be sidelined, while those willing to flout the restriction continue unchecked.

A comparison with Sweden underscores the point. Sweden permits both affiliate activity and welcome bonuses; Finland will restrict both. Spelinspektionen’s 2025 survey found that 70% of respondents who had gambled in the past year could not say whether an operator held a Swedish licence. Ljunggren indicated this illustrates the difficulty of conveying licensed status without independent guidance.

The Channelisation Question

More than 80 licence applications already signal strong commercial interest. The real opportunity, Ljunggren observed, lies in converting existing player activity with international operators into the regulated channel rather than creating new demand. Success will hinge on whether operators can convey safety and protection benefits amid marketing limits and on whether players can readily distinguish licensed from unlicensed offerings.

Finland’s framework therefore presents a regulatory trade-off: tighter controls on promotion may reduce certain harms yet simultaneously weaken the mechanisms that guide players toward those safer options. Operators will need to invest in seamless onboarding, local payment methods and explicit safety messaging to compete. Without effective channelisation, the liberalisation may fall short of its protective intent.