Finland to End Gambling Monopoly by 2026

iGaming Business reports that the Finnish government has decided to ditch the existing monopoly on gambling by 2026.

Right now, there is only one licensed gambling company in Finland that runs the show for gambling in the country.

It’s Veikkaus, a government-owned company that offers various gambling options such as sports betting, casinos, poker, and lotteries.

The Finnish government agrees that the current monopoly model on gambling is a flop. Finnish laws don’t stop citizens from playing on foreign gambling sites. Unlicensed gambling companies welcome these customers with open arms, which hurts the Finnish budget.

Instead of a gambling monopoly, Finland will go for a licensing system. That means any foreign gambling firm can get a license and operate in the local market legally.

Early estimates show that the Finnish budget will rake in twice as much money from gambling as it does now.

Gambling Park backs this up with stats: in the first half of 2022, the Finnish online betting market was worth $520 million, with only half of this amount coming from Veikkaus.

Besides setting up a licensing system, the Finnish government also plans to create a unified system for self-exclusion from gambling for all licensed gambling firms in the country.