Finland is quickly approaching the launch of its regulated market in 2027, but the decision to ban affiliate marketing has raised a question – what happens after?

Affiliates usually have a well-established symbiosis with licensed operators in liberal markets across Europe, but decision makers in Finland have decided to completely ban them from the new landscape.

The main reason behind this is the government completely missing the mark when it comes to what affiliates actually are, according to Antti Koivula, iGaming Lawyer at Hippos ATG, who recently said this on an SBC Affiliates Leaders Digital Day expert panel.

“The misunderstanding was quite comprehensive. In essence, the perception was that affiliates were influencers who are aggressively pushing gambling marketing towards people, including the most vulnerable groups, as if all affiliates were the same,” he said. “That picture is of course far from accurate.

“Many affiliates operate in a highly responsible way and do meaningful responsible work themselves.

“That said, the false perception was clearly there. The main reason for that, which is rather understandable, was that affiliate marketing in Finland was and still is illegal.”

With affiliates confirmed to be still out of the picture even when the new market launches, it is important to ensure that the rules are clearly outlined to avoid any misunderstanding, and that the regulator is equipped with enough power to deal with potential misconduct.

Simon Vinzce, Head of Sustainable and Safer Gambling, Casino Guru, commented: “In the situation with the new legislation, what can help the regulator is to be very clear about what is being allowed and what is not being allowed. 

“If you leave room for interpretation, then those websites will be able to, for example, claim that they are not promoting but informing instead.”

And while Koivula agreed with the general idea of needing a clear-cut and transparent approach, he added that there’s still “a lot of room to be more precise” when it comes to Finland’s regulatory framework.

“The legislation is lacking several definitions, further guidance is hopefully to be provided,” he added. 

“Everything comes down to enforcement. Unfortunately, I’m not convinced at all that the Finnish enforcement will be on the level that it should be from the moment of market launch, quite the opposite.

“I’m rather afraid that the regulator has really limited means to take action against black market activity. At the same time, I have no doubt that the licensed operators will follow the legislation.”

But everything comes into place sooner or later, and Pablo Espuela, Head of Corporate Development, BeandDeal, believes that this will eventually happen in Finland as well.

“With time, the regulator realises that the important thing is channelisation, which then makes it turn its attention to regulate other things that they didn’t think of at the beginning.

“And I’m sure the regulator will start to soften up a bit once it realises they are losing parts of the market to these illegal affiliates,” Espuela concluded.

To watch the full panel and hear who actually wins from the affiliate ban, click here.

Want to hear more stories like this? Check out the new SBC Media YouTube Channel, the new home of all things multimedia at SBC, where our team deep-dives into the biggest stories from across the sports betting, iGaming, affiliate and payments industries.