Finland’s Offshore Gambling Market: €903 Million Beyond State Control

Introduction

Finland’s gambling market is officially a monopoly. Veikkaus, the state-owned operator, holds exclusive rights to all forms of gambling on Finnish soil. In practice, that monopoly has already been hollowed out — most dramatically in digital channels, where offshore operators without Finnish oversight or player protection obligations have seized the majority of the market.

In 2025, offshore operators generated €903 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) from Finnish players — nearly matching Veikkaus’ own €936 million and representing 49% of Finland’s total €1,835 million market. Four years earlier, offshore accounted for roughly 35% of the market. The shift has been rapid, structural and irreversible under the current monopoly framework.

This report examines the scale, composition and consequences of Finland’s offshore gambling market, and what the licensing reform from July 2027 is projected to change.

Market Size and Growth

The offshore market’s expansion since 2021 represents one of the fastest growth trajectories in European gambling:

Metric	2021	2025	Change
Offshore GGR	~€519M	€903M	+74%
Total market	~€1,500M	€1,835M	+22%
Offshore share of total	~35%	49%	+14 pp
Online casino offshore share	—	76.6%	—
Betting offshore share	—	72%	—
Veikkaus digital share	84%	39%	−45 pp

Source: H2 Gambling Capital

Offshore GGR grew at more than three times the rate of the total market. While Finland’s gambling market as a whole expanded 22%, offshore grew 74% — systematically displacing Veikkaus in every digital product category.

Product Breakdown

Online casino is the primary engine of offshore growth, followed by sports betting. Together these two categories account for the overwhelming majority of offshore revenue:

Product	Offshore Market Share	Key Insight
Online casino	76.6%	Veikkaus holds just 23.4%
Sports betting	72%	Veikkaus holds 28%
Poker	Majority offshore	Limited Veikkaus offering

Veikkaus’ strongest position remains in lottery and retail products — segments where there is no viable offshore alternative. In every digital channel, offshore operators have decisively won.

Why Players Choose Offshore

The drivers behind Finland’s offshore dominance are structural, not accidental. Offshore operators offer a product that Veikkaus cannot or does not match under the monopoly framework:

• Wider product range — thousands of games across hundreds of software providers, versus Veikkaus’ limited licensed portfolio
• Better odds and higher RTPs — offshore casinos operate at higher return-to-player rates than Veikkaus’ regulated products
• Bonuses and promotions — Veikkaus is prohibited from offering welcome bonuses; offshore operators are not
• No mandatory identification — until 2023, many Veikkaus products required full KYC; offshore sites historically did not
• No loss limits or time reminders — Veikkaus implements mandatory player protection tools; offshore sites impose none
• Aggressive marketing via affiliates and influencers — offshore operators exploit channels Veikkaus cannot legally use

The result is a product advantage that the monopoly framework structurally prevents Veikkaus from closing.

The Player Protection Gap

The offshore market’s size would be a regulatory inconvenience if it were otherwise benign. It is not. Offshore operators operating without Finnish oversight offer zero player protection infrastructure:

• No AI-driven care calls or proactive outreach to at-risk players
• No mandatory deposit or loss limits
• No real-time identification linked to Finnish population data
• No connection to the national self-exclusion register (PELIRAJAT’ON)
• No “panic button” emergency self-exclusion

The epidemiological consequence is stark. According to Peluuri and THL data, 93% of Finns with gambling problems use the internet as their primary gambling channel — the majority of them at unprotected offshore sites. Problem gambling prevalence has nearly doubled since 2018, from 2.6–2.8% to 4.2% (2023), affecting an estimated 151,000 Finns and approximately 733,000 family members.

The offshore market is not a fringe phenomenon. It is the primary channel through which Finland’s gambling harm problem is generated.

PSP Blocking: Finland’s Response

In 2023, Finland became one of the first European countries to implement Payment Service Provider (PSP) blocking — requiring banks and payment processors to block transactions to known unlicensed gambling operators. The legal basis was established under the Lotteries Act, and cooperation was secured from major Finnish financial institutions.

Early evidence suggests the measure has reduced payment flows to offshore sites. However, PSP blocking is not a complete solution:

• VPNs — players can mask their location and access offshore sites via international payment methods
• Cryptocurrency — offshore operators increasingly accept crypto payments that bypass banking restrictions
• E-wallets — indirect payment routes through services not yet covered by blocking orders

PSP blocking is best understood as a friction measure — it increases the effort required to access offshore gambling, reducing casual participation, but does not eliminate determined offshore play. It is complemented by IP and DNS blocking planned for 2027 under the new licensing framework.

Taxation as Deterrent

Finland has deployed a powerful and legally novel tool against offshore gambling: income taxation of winnings at unlicensed operators.

Under Finnish tax law, winnings at licensed gambling operators are tax-free. Winnings at unlicensed (offshore) operators are classified as taxable income under the Income Tax Act. The financial implications are significant:

• A player winning €10,000 at an offshore casino could face a tax liability of €3,000–€5,000 depending on their marginal income tax rate
• Players are legally required to self-report offshore winnings in their annual tax return
• Enforcement is increasing as the Finnish Tax Administration cross-references payment data with known offshore operator identifiers

This creates a structural financial incentive to choose licensed alternatives once the 2027 market opens. No other Nordic country has implemented offshore winnings taxation in this way. Finland’s approach represents a genuine regulatory innovation.

Post-Reform Projections

The Finnish licensing system opens from 1 July 2027, with a stated channelisation target of 90% — meaning 90% of Finnish gambling activity should flow through licensed operators. The Ministry of Finance expects 40–50 licence applications from major European operators.

If Finland achieves the 90% channelisation target, the market transformation would be substantial:

• Offshore GGR would decline from €903 million to approximately €180 million (representing residual uncaptured play)
• Licensed market GGR (including Veikkaus) could reach €1,650 million or more
• Tax revenue at the 22% GGR rate would generate approximately €363 million annually
• Currently estimated €199 million per year in tax revenue lost to offshore would be substantially recovered

“€903 million flowing to operators with zero player protection and zero tax contribution. That is the cost of a monopoly that failed to adapt to digital reality. The licensing system is not about liberalisation — it is about recapturing a market that was already lost.”

— Tommi Korhonen, CEO, Bonusetu.media