Finland names its first 18 gambling licence holders, 63 applications pending

The licences run from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2032, and the board says each application is taking six to eight months to process.

Finland’s National Police Board (NPB) has granted 18 licences under the country’s new Gambling Act, with 63 more applications still under review. The board published the list on 29 October 2026, eight months before the market opens to licensed competition on 1 July 2027.

The 18 licensed companies

The NPB’s list names 18 companies and their licence numbers. The licences are valid from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2032, unless otherwise specified.

The list gives company names only, not the groups that own them. Several operators have announced their own approvals. 

• Wildz Group was the first, on 15 October. 
• Hippos ATG, a joint venture between Swedish operator ATG and Finnish trotting association Suomen Hippos, followed on 19 October. 
• SkillOnNet has also confirmed a licence, as has SuomiVeto, a new operator set up by BetCity.nl founders Melvin Bostelaar and Joey Singels. 
• ComeOn Group’s owner, European Entertainment Group, said on 22 October that it had received all the licences it applied for, but did not name the companies.

Six companies have been added since 26 October, when the NPB confirmed 12 licences from 79 applications and no rejections. They are Roi Roger, UnionJack, Benelongs, Stare Straight, Pot Luck Club, and Amber Entertainment Finland.

How the number of applications has grown

• 1 March 2026: applications open.
• 8 June: the NPB reports 50 applications.
• 22 September: the NPB tells Yle it has 75 applications and has not decided on any of them. 
• 26 October: 12 licences granted from 79 applications.
• 29 October: 18 licences granted, with 63 applications still being processed, for a total of 81.

How Finland’s licence applications grew

Each bar is the total number of applications on that date. Select a date to see the details.

• Licences granted
• Awaiting decision

99 days 106 days 34 days 3 days 1 March 20261 of 5

Applications open under Finland’s new Gambling Act.

Expected processing time3 to 6 months 8 June 20262 of 5

The NPB reports 50 applications.

Applications50 Licences granted0 Awaiting decision50 22 September 20263 of 5

The NPB tells Yle it has 75 applications and has not decided on any of them.

Applications75+25 since 8 June Licences granted0 Awaiting decision75 26 October 20264 of 5

The NPB confirms the first 12 licences, from 79 applications, with no rejections.

Applications79+4 since 22 September Licences granted12 Awaiting decision6779 − 12 29 October 20265 of 5

The NPB publishes its list of 18 licence holders. Processing now takes six to eight months per application.

Applications8118 + 63 Licences granted18+6 since 26 October Awaiting decision63 Expected processing time6 to 8 months

Source: National Police Board (NPB) figures on each date; the 22 September figures were reported by Yle. Applications are not companies: some groups applied through more than one company.

Applications do not equal companies. Some groups have applied through more than one company, and each application costs €29,000 to process in 2026.

Why decisions are taking six to eight months

The NPB now estimates processing times at six to eight months and handles applications in the order they arrive. When applications opened, it expected three to six months.

Most applicants are based outside Finland, and that adds to the workload. For Finnish companies, the board can get most background information from national registers. Foreign companies have to provide those documents themselves.

Juho Puisto, senior adviser at the NPB’s Gambling Administration, said: 

‘Most of the applicants are foreign companies. In these cases, it is the applicant’s responsibility to supply the required official reports and other attachments to the National Police Board.’

He added that a single application can involve up to hundreds of pages of documents. Official papers from different countries vary widely in content and format, so the board usually has to ask applicants for extra details or explanations.

Puisto said: 

‘Having to ask for further information naturally has an impact on processing times.’

What happens next

A licence does not let an operator go live straight away. Licence holders can start offering and marketing gambling no earlier than 1 July 2027, and only once the required audits are done and they have connected to the NPB’s supervision system.

There is no application deadline and no legal cap on the number of operators, and the NPB says it expects dozens more licence decisions. The board remains the licensing authority until the end of June 2027. After that, the Finnish Supervisory Agency takes over licensing and supervision.

None of the 18 licences has gone to a Veikkaus company. The state-owned operator keeps its monopoly on online betting and casino until the end of June 2027.

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