How is Veikkaus preparing for a competitive gaming market in Finland?

The gambling monopoly story is a well-worn one, but Finland’s Veikkaus is planning to break the mold once the market liberalizes in January 2027. Veikkaus has been in steady decline for some years now but historically has managed to obtain between 20% and 30% of Finland’s igaming market.

Canadian Gaming Association CEO Paul Burns recently said of the Canadian market: “Because of the large unregulated igaming market presence in Canada, no one’s had a monopoly for 25 years, and that’s the reality.”

The same can be said for Europe’s remaining monopolies, including Veikkaus. Finland has operated a thriving grey market for the last five to 10 years, and Veikkaus has unsurprisingly struggled to keep up with unlicensed peers that have not had to face the same restrictions as the monopoly.