The Monopoly's Digital Collapse: Veikkaus at 23%

A Monopoly That No Longer Exists Digitally

On paper, Veikkaus holds exclusive rights to all gambling in Finland. In practice, that monopoly has already collapsed — at least digitally.

According to H2 Gambling Capital, offshore operators without Finnish oversight already control 76.6% of the online casino market and 72% of the betting market. Veikkaus' remaining share — 23.4% of casino and 28% of betting — makes the Finnish "monopoly" one of the most eroded in European gambling history.

The digital market share tells the full story:

From 84 to 39 percent — a drop of 45 percentage points in seven years. This is not a gradual shift. It is a structural breakdown.

The Offshore Explosion: +74% in Four Years

While Veikkaus shrinks, the offshore sector has grown explosively. H2 Gambling Capital data reveals a brutally clear trend:

Offshore GGR has risen from €518 million (2021) to €903 million (2025) — an increase of 74%. In 2025, the gap between Veikkaus and offshore was just €33 million. In 2026, the offshore sector is projected to reach €1,053 million — for the first time surpassing Veikkaus' total operations.

Revenue Decline: −26% in Five Years

Veikkaus' revenues have fallen four consecutive years:

From €1,260 million to €936 million — a loss of €324 million, or 26%. Operating profit fell to €431.6 million (2025). The payment to the Finnish state landed at €578.3 million — money that funds culture, sports and social services.

The Retail Collapse

The land-based business has halved:

From €714 to €342 million in five years. Physical slot machines and gaming halls — once the backbone of the Finnish monopoly — now generate less than half of what they did in 2020. The digitalisation of the gambling market has not just moved players online — it has moved them offshore.

"We Took the Initiative Ourselves"

Veikkaus CEO Olli Sarekoski has described the situation with unusual openness. At the end of 2022, he publicly proposed that the monopoly should be dismantled — a unique event where a state-owned monopoly company itself proposes its own abolishment.

"We took the initiative for the reform ourselves in 2022 because the monopoly had in practice stopped functioning digitally. This is a historic change and a great opportunity."

— Olli Sarekoski, CEO, Veikkaus

Sarekoski's candid assessment is confirmed by the data: when 77% of online casino and 72% of the betting market is controlled by operators without oversight, a monopoly has ceased to be a monopoly.

What Happens Now?

On 1 March 2026, Finland opened license applications for the new gambling market. From 1 July 2027, Veikkaus' monopoly formally ends and a licensed market goes live. The Ministry of Finance expects 40–50 license applications.

But the reform's ambition extends beyond market liberalisation. Finland is introducing Europe's strictest gambling regulation with a total ban on affiliate and influencer marketing, no welcome bonuses, mandatory B2B licensing from 2028, and a unique tool: taxation of gambling winnings at unlicensed operators as income.

The channelisation target is 90% — more than doubling today's 51%. If Finland succeeds, an estimated €199 million per year in potential tax revenues currently lost to offshore will be recovered.

"Finland's gambling monopoly did not die in 2027 — it died quietly during the 2020s, one percentage point at a time. The reform is not a deregulation. It is an acknowledgement of reality."

— Tommi Korhonen, Gambling Market Analyst, Bonusetu.media