Finland’s Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV) have called for additional player protection measures ahead of the country’s transition to a licensed online gambling market in July 2027.
The two authorities said the safeguards included in the new system do not sufficiently address the risks associated with increased competition. Finland’s reform will allow licensed operators to offer online casino games and betting alongside Veikkaus, ending the operator’s monopoly over those verticals.
THL and KKV highlighted young adults as a particular area of concern, saying gambling problems and related indebtedness are already more common among the age group than among other demographics.
Their proposals include increasing the minimum gambling age from 18 to 20 and setting lower gambling expenditure limits for people under 24. They also called for deposit and loss limits covering all regulated gambling products, alongside restrictions on bonus funds and other incentives.
The authorities have additionally proposed blocking websites and payments connected to unlicensed operators and banning gambling marketing on social media. They said increased use of social media and other digital channels for gambling advertising could expose younger consumers to greater levels of operator marketing.
The licensing framework already contains marketing restrictions intended to protect minors and vulnerable consumers. Government proposals for the reform require permitted gambling advertising to remain moderate in its content, scale, visibility and frequency, while marketing directed at minors is prohibited.
THL Director General, Mika Salminen, said: “Protecting young people must be made a key objective of gambling policy.”
The new regime will also change Finland’s gambling tax framework. Legislation adopted in January set the gambling tax rate for monopoly and licensed gambling at 22% of gross gaming revenue from 1 July 2027.
In February, THL introduced new gambling risk limits ahead of Finland’s 2027 market launch, including its 2-4-2 recommendation covering player spending, gambling frequency and the number of game types played.
THL previously reported Finland’s problem gambling rate had increased from 3% to 4.2%, with 13% of gamblers classified as at risk
