Finland’s National Police Board has issued four prohibition decisions and six conditional fines for illegal gambling marketing so far in 2026.
The announcement, published on the police board’s site, shows enforcement running ahead of previous years as Finland prepares to end the Veikkaus Oy monopoly and open a licensed online gambling market on July 1, 2027. Under the Lotteries Act, only the state-owned Veikkaus Oy may currently market gambling products in mainland Finland, and the board has singled out social media platforms and livestreams as the channels where illegal promotions are spreading fastest.
Streamers and affiliates in the enforcement net
Prohibition orders apply to individuals as well as companies. Conditional fines attached to them have ranged from €30,000 to €200,000 for individuals and €100,000 to €1.2 million for companies. The fines individuals were actually ordered to pay in 2026 have run from €20,000 to €100,000.
Juhani Wallinvirta, head of group in the board’s Gambling Administration, said the board orders payment of a conditional fine only when a recipient fails to comply with a prohibition decision within the specified time limit. “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 in the announcement.
The board said illegal gambling marketing has grown more common on social media, with influencers and streamers among those drawing Finnish players to unlicensed services. Wallinvirta added that such marketing does more than list games: it raises awareness of gambling providers and can encourage people to start or continue playing.
Licensing pressure builds before July 2027
The enforcement climate sits alongside a busy licensing queue. The board had received 75 licence applications by September 22, up from 50 in June, and each licence will cost €29,000 under the new framework, which covers fixed-odds betting, pool betting, virtual betting, online casino and online slots.
The largest conditional fine this year, €1.2 million, was reportedly attached to an order against Estonian-licensed operator MagicPoro, and a Finnish court reportedly froze that ban and fine in October.
Wallinvirta said in the announcement that a conditional fine may be considered necessary to secure an immediate and effective end to illegal gambling marketing.
Renata Kovacs has spent the better part of a decade following the regulatory shifts and licensing battles that define how gambling markets open, close, and evolve across Europe and beyond. She came up through the legal and compliance side of the industry before shifting her focus to journalism and analysis, giving her a perspective that sits closer to the operator room than the press box. Her coverage tends to cut through the noise and get straight to what a regulatory change actually means for the businesses and players involved.