The guaranteed launch of Finland’s new gambling market marks a historic turning point for European gambling regulation, as the final EU member state dismantles its online monopoly structure.

Two weeks ago, Finnish President Alexander Stubb gave presidential sign-off to Finland’s new Gambling Bill, formally ending Veikkaus’s long-standing monopoly and guaranteeing the rollout of a multi-licence online gambling market by July 2027.

Finland’s transition confirms that every EU nation regulated online gambling regime will operate under a competitive multi-licensing framework.

The shift represents a decisive endorsement of regulatory models long advocated by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), which has consistently argued that open, well-regulated markets deliver stronger consumer protections, higher channelisation and more effective regulatory oversight than monopoly systems.

EGBA Secretary General Maarten Haijer described Finland’s reform as the completion of a regulatory journey that has been unfolding across Europe for nearly two decades.

“We’re pleased that Finland has finally moved to a multi-licensing system for online gambling. The momentum towards multi-licensing in Europe is now complete,” 

Haijer said: “Governments have concluded that public policy objectives — particularly around consumer protection — are more effectively met through well-regulated online competition fostered by multi-licensing.”

He added that extensive European regulatory experience has produced overwhelming evidence that multi-licence frameworks outperform monopoly regimes across key policy goals — from tax generation to market control.

“With nearly 20 years of regulatory experience in Europe, it’s clear that full multi-licensing across all online gambling products offers the best pathway to create a competitive, consumer-centric and well-regulated market,” he noted. 

“This approach strengthens regulatory oversight, improves channelisation to legal operators, and delivers sustainable tax revenues for governments.”

Can multi-licensing shine through in Finland?

EGBA has also positioned multi-licensing as the most effective structural defence against the rapid growth of illegal online gambling across Europe. 

The association argues that monopoly systems and product restrictions consistently push consumers toward unregulated offshore platforms — where consumer safeguards are absent and public revenues are lost.

“Multi-licensing creates attractive, regulated alternatives that draw players away from the black market,” Haijer said. “If policymakers are serious about combating illegal gambling, building competitive licensed markets is the proven solution.”

While the EU has now completed its shift away from online monopolies, EGBA continues to highlight Norway and Iceland, both European Economic Area (EEA) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members — as the remaining outliers in Europe’s regulatory landscape. 

Both jurisdictions continue to apply monopoly privileges across large parts of their online gambling sectors, a model EGBA believes is increasingly unsustainable in the digital economy.

“Similar deliberations about licensing are inevitable in Norway and Iceland — it’s only a matter of time,” Haijer added. “Finland demonstrates that even countries with deep-rooted monopoly traditions can modernise their frameworks to meet today’s market realities.”

As Europe’s gambling regulation continues to mature, the EGBA stands by its European-wide policy consensus: “competitive multi-licence systems consistently deliver stronger consumer protection, better regulatory control and more resilient defences against illegal gambling.”

The message from regulators and industry alike is now increasingly clear “in the digital age, monopoly gambling models no longer deliver effective public policy outcomes”.