New Finnish gambling legislation: Fear of growth illegal operators

Finnish broadcaster MTV reported earlier this month that foreign gambling companies will be allowed to enter the Finnish market from next year. The upcoming reform of gambling legislation in Finland received only two minutes of airtime.

The ruling raised concerns among experts, including Antti Koivula, a lawyer specialized in iGaming and an expert on the Finnish gambling market.

Growing black market

Antti Koivula expressed his concerns about the proposed legislation that wants to ban affiliates and bonuses. “I am seriously concerned that with the proposed ban on affiliates and bonuses, there will not be many foreign operators ‘storming the Finnish market’ and the size of the black market will increase significantly,” Koivula said.

He noted that while traditional media may be excited about the situation where almost all marketing must take place through them, this is not without risks. “If all TV shows, newspapers, magazines and the like are flooded with gambling advertisements, that is far from ideal.”

“It’s a recipe to turn ordinary citizens against gambling, as we saw in Sweden a few years ago,” he explained, referring to the mistakes Sweden made despite not even banning affiliates and bonuses.

Impact on the market 

The proposed legislation could benefit operators with significant market share or who do not rely on affiliates and customer acquisition bonuses. However, Koivula warned that affiliates will not simply leave the Finnish market even if they are banned. “It’s just a matter of whether they will provide traffic for the regulated market or the black market. Easy to choose which one to prefer, right?”

The bill is still in the draft stage, and changes will be made after the consultation phase that ends on August 18. Politicians have publicly stated that they are not satisfied with the current bill, but that it was necessary to publish it now for planning reasons. Koivula calls on the industry to submit their views and contribute to the reform process so that policymakers can make the right choices and create an effective licensing system for Finland.