The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has issued a statement welcoming the plans for Finland to overhaul its current online gambling monopoly.
This comes after The Ministry of the Interior in Finland announced a legislative project to introduce a licence system for online gambling.
Under the new proposals, operators who offer online gambling, such as casino games or betting activities, would be required to apply for a licence.
This will be part of a wider project, which would include fees, taxation, safer gambling legislation and advertising regulations.
At the moment, Veikkaus currently has the exclusive right to offer gambling services in Finland and is a wholly state-owned enterprise.
Maarten Haijer, EGBA Secretary General, said: “This is a welcome step towards meaningful and overdue gambling reform in Finland.
“The introduction of multi-licensing would provide greater choice and safeguards to Finnish consumers, ensure fairer competition between operators, and enable the Finnish authorities to have greater control over their online gambling market.
“With these changes of the Finnish legislation, all member states of the EU will now have some form of licensing regime for online gambling.
Finland is the only country in the EU that operates its online gambling industry as a monopoly system.
Due to this, the EGBA believes that Finland is losing out on revenue as players turn to international websites outside of the country.
The EGBA hopes that a licence system would not only facilitate stricter regulation, but also increase revenue.
Haijer continued: “We look forward to continuing dialogue with the Finnish Government and local stakeholders as the regulatory discussions develop.”
Previously a Finland-only site, the recently rebranded Winlandia also started its international expansion by launching in the UK.
