Finland risks gambling chaos with new law – Top lawyer Antti Koivula sounds alarm
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26 May 2025 •
Reading time: 2 minutes Finland wants to lift the state monopoly on online gambling. From 2027, commercial operators will be allowed to participate under a licence. The law is not yet through, but the plans are ready.
It sounds like modernisation. More choice, tighter rules, and oversight from a new authority. But according to lawyer Antti Koivula, this could lead to a mess. Especially for players – and for the judiciary.
Every gambling round counts as income, even if you lose
One of the most striking proposals is how winnings are taxed. If you win at an unlicensed site, you have to pay tax. Do you lose afterwards? Then it doesn’t count.
That means: every round where you win something is considered income. Even if you lose everything again that same night. Legally, that’s ‘bad luck’, but financially it’s unsustainable.
Koivula warns, ‘People with addiction or big losses could soon be treated as fraudsters.’
Fines, lawsuits and even four-year prison sentences threaten if players do not neatly declare their ‘earnings’.
Supervision being rebuilt – but far from finished
The government wants to set up a new regulator. It should issue licences, control advertising and enforce addiction prevention. But according to Koivula, many rules are still unclear.
‘What is allowed, what is not allowed, and who decides? Nobody knows exactly right now.’
That will soon create confusion. Not only among players, but also among providers. And that opens the door to mistakes, lawsuits and misunderstandings. Smaller gambling companies in particular risk high fines or losing their licences.
The black market will become stronger if these rules are introduced
Koivula fears that illegal providers will profit from it.
‘If legal sites are not given enough space to advertise or give bonuses, players will drop out.’
They will then simply go back to the ‘old’ sites, without a licence.
The problem is that Finland has no clear plan to tackle this black market. And as long as illegal providers keep running, the aims of the law are worth nothing.