First Finnish gambling licence prompts difficult questions over offshore advertising

The issuing of what appears to be Finland’s first ever online gambling licence has caused confusion about how permissive officials will be about past grey market advertising.

Last week, Wildz Group announced that it had become the first company to be issued with an online gambling licence by Finland’s National Police Board (NPB).

Although the board is yet to officially confirm the news, a spokesperson for Malta-based Wildz has been widely quoted in the gaming press.

“Being the first operator to receive a gambling licence in Finland is a fantastic milestone for Wildz Group and a well-deserved reward for the hard work and dedication of our entire team throughout the application process,” they said.

“We look forward to working closely with the Finnish regulator to achieve the highest possible level of channelisation, ensuring that the new licensing regime is a success and delivers on its objectives.”

Finland’s new igaming market will open on July 1, 2027.

A history of Finnish marketing

The issue for some observers is that Wildz, which until June 2025 was known as Rootz, has previously found itself in hot water for grey market advertising that allegedly breached rules set out by the police board.

Vitally, the company has never been the target of any formal enforcement or been found to have broken Finnish law.

However it was reported in the Iltahlehti newspaper that the NPB was in frequent dialogue with the company up until at least September last year over what the regulator suspected was illegal advertising.

The regulator later confirmed publicly that it was considering a fine for Wildz if it did not cease marketing targeting Finland.

Much of the concern focused on the Gämblers Cast and its most prominent host, former downhill skiing world champion Kalle Palander.

The Finnish-language sports-focused show once prominently featured Wildz branding, but all mention of the gambling brand has since been removed from new episodes.

Confounding expectations

Wildz’ apparent status at the top of the list of approved operators in Finland, despite its run-ins with the NPB, has caught some in the industry by surprise.

Several gambling professionals say their companies have pulled away from Finland in advance of the new market, fearing that any kind of targeted marketing will rule them out of consideration.

The police board has, in its recent public statements, also taken what appears to be a hardline approach to the issue of offshore advertising.

A day before Wildz announced it had secured a licence, the police board issued a statement laying out how it had issued an unprecedented number of fines for illegal gambling marketing in recent months.

The regulator noted that it makes frequent use of conditional fines to force companies to scale back their illegal advertising, as well as issuing so-called prohibition orders.

The regulator has issued four prohibition orders and six conditional fines so far in 2026, it said.

Finland's new gambling regulations are clear that receiving a prohibition order will rule out a licence application being accepted for two years.

“The purpose of the threat fine is not to punish illegal activity, but to enhance compliance with the prohibition decision and ensure that illegal marketing effectively ends,” said NPB group manager Juhani Wallinvirta

“Only Veikkaus Oy has the right to market gambling in mainland Finland," he said.

Not the only one

Grey market advertising and licensing are also set to clash in the case of MagicPoro, which is the target of one of the NPB’s prohibition orders over its Finnish-centric advertisements.

The Cyprus-based operator was issued a €1.2m fine and an effective two-year ban on applying to enter the upcoming new market in early October.

That order was later suspended by the Helsinki Administrative Court, while it takes time to consider MagicPoro’s appeal.

The operator revealed in its appeal filing that it too has asked for a licence and still intended to press forward with that application.

Legal experts have predicted that the case could run well past July next year and whether or not the NPB approves or rejects that application in the meantime will be closely watched.

Take care

Despite the apparent uncertainty over the NPB’s approach to marketing, legal experts are still warning operators interested in applying for a licence to be cautious.

If companies continue with advertising targeting Finland, “it is good to keep in mind that when suitability for a licence is assessed, this might be a bit of a turn-off [for the regulator],” said Heikki Koivula, a senior advisor at Nordic Law.

He noted that NPB’s illegal advertising bulletin could be read as a warning that it continues to monitor marketing even as it tackles the considerable challenge of assessing licence applications.

“It might be a reminder that not all their focus is on processing the applications, as the law has not changed yet and the monopoly remains in place,” he said.

So far, the regulator says it has received 75 bids for licenses, with analysts predicting as many as 100 companies could apply before the July 2027 launch date — a sizable total for a nation of only 5.6m people.