Finland's police board fines illegal gambling marketers up to €1.2m

Finland's National Police Board says enforcement against illegal gambling marketing has intensified through 2026, with the Finnish Gambling Administration issuing a string of prohibition orders and conditional fines against companies and individuals promoting unlicensed betting services, iGaming Business reported.

By the middle of the year, the Gambling Administration had handed down four formal prohibition decisions and six conditional fines under the Lotteries Act. The cases target promotional activity running through websites, social media and live-streaming platforms, all channels the board says Finnish consumers use heavily.

The conditional penalties are sizeable. Individuals face sums of between €30,000 ($33,576) and €200,000, while companies can be ordered to pay between €100,000 and €1.2 million. Where a company or individual ignores a prohibition order outright, the board says the fines actually collected have ranged from €20,000 to €100,000.

Juhani Wallinvirta, head of group at the National Police Board, said the point of attaching a conditional fine to a ban is to force compliance rather than to penalise past conduct. "The purpose of the conditional fine is not to punish illegal activities, but to reinforce compliance with the prohibition decision and to ensure that illegal marketing actually ceases," he said.

The board argues that Finnish law defines gambling marketing broadly, covering advertising and a wide range of sales promotion designed to boost demand. It says that definition has become more relevant as unlicensed advertising has spread across social media and gaming live streams, where influencers can draw Finnish audiences toward offshore operators at speed.

Wallinvirta said such promotion does more than inform consumers of what is available. "The marketing of gambling games not only conveys information about the range of games available, but it can also increase awareness of gambling service providers, the availability and demand for gambling games and encourage people to start or continue playing," he said.

A survey conducted this spring, cited by the board, found that blocking payments to unlicensed gambling sites was seen as the single most effective way to curb illegal gambling among Finnish residents. The same research probed whether offers from overseas operators are drawing players away from Veikkaus, the country's licensed domestic platform.

Finland currently runs its gambling market through a state monopoly, with Veikkaus Oy the only operator permitted to market gambling on the mainland. That arrangement is due to end in July 2027, when the market opens to licensed competition for the first time.

The National Police Board reported last month that it had received 75 applications from operators seeking a foothold in the liberalised market, up sharply from the 50 applications logged in June.

Veikkaus iGaming executive vice president Jarkko Nordlund told iGaming Business in July last year that the operator was bracing for tougher competition once the monopoly lifts. "The competition will be fierce when the market opens, so we must be very competitive. Our aim is to challenge the mentality of our current position, so we need to secure market leadership," he said.