Finland names its first 18 gambling licence holders

Finland's National Police Board (Poliisihallitus) has granted the first 18 licences under the country's new Gambling Act and, for the first time, publishes who holds them. The board announced on 29 October 2026 that 63 more applications are still being processed. The list on the police website gives each company and its licence number, and the board says it will be updated as new licences are granted.

The licences allow holders to run games such as sports betting and online casino. They can start offering and marketing gambling on 1 July 2027 at the earliest. Until then, Veikkaus keeps its monopoly.

The 18 licence holders

According to European Gaming, the licences run from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2032 unless otherwise specified. Six names are new since 26 October, when the board confirmed 12 licences: Roi Roger, UnionJack, Benelongs, Stare Straight, Pot Luck Club and Amber Entertainment Finland.

Who is behind the companies

As of 29 October, the list gives company names only, according to European Gaming, not the groups that own them or the brands players will see. According to next.io, the 18 licences belong to nine operators: ComeOn Group holds six (Cloudberry, KuuFlip, Nivei Ursi, RocketLily, SixthSpin, YTBlue), Nordplay Group three (Buccone Trading, Roi Roger, UnionJack) and Blixx Gaming three (Benelongs, Pot Luck Club, Stare Straight). Wildz Group (Granturo Finland), Superbet Group (Sunflower Gaming), SkillOnNet, Amber Entertainment/7bet, the ATG and Suomen Hippos joint venture Hippos ATG, and SuomiVeto hold one each. As of 29 October, which consumer sites will run under each licence has not been published.

As of 29 October, no Veikkaus company is on the list.

Why the queue is slow

Applications are handled in the order they arrive, and the board now puts processing at about six to eight months per application. Most applicants are foreign companies, which have to supply their own official reports, while Finnish applicants' background can largely be checked in national registers.

"A single licence application may involve reviewing up to hundreds of pages of documents," said Juho Puisto of the board's Gambling Administration, according to next.io's translation of the release. Documents from different countries vary widely, he added, so the board usually has to ask for more information, and "having to ask for further information naturally has an impact on processing times."

There is no application deadline, and the board expects dozens more licence decisions. next.io and European Gaming put the total at 81 applications so far. European Gaming says that is up from 79 on 26 October. According to European Gaming, a licence holder can only go live once the required audits are done and it has connected to the board's supervision system.

What it means for players in Finland

Nothing changes today. Licensed play starts on 1 July 2027 at the earliest, and from that date the new Finnish Supervisory Agency (Lupa- ja valvontavirasto) takes over licensing and supervision from the Police Board. In our reading, with 18 licences granted and dozens more expected, the licensed market looks set to open with real choice. For now, a company name on this list says little about which brand you will see, and it says nothing about bonuses or terms, which none of these operators may market before July 2027.

For earlier steps, see our stories on the first 12 licences on 26 October, Veikkaus' Viabet plans, Hippos ATG's licence and Wildz's licence announcement.