Exactly 50 comprehensive iGaming licensing applications have been formally submitted ahead of Finland launching its highly anticipated regulated gambling market next summer, according to an update provided by the country’s National Police Board (NPB).
However, the central administrative board issued an explicit warning to corporate applicants, revealing that companies may not find out if they have been successful for up to six months due to strict regulatory auditing loops.
The NPB is temporarily serving as the state’s acting regulator until the open market officially launches on July 1, 2027, successfully ending the long-standing Veikkaus state monopoly in the country. Ahead of the market launching, the formal license application window opened in March.
However, the latest tracking update from the temporary regulator indicates that this application volume has almost doubled over the past few weeks. All corporate applicants are required to pay a mandatory processing fee of €29,000 to complete their compliance submission.
Continuous Evaluation Tracks and Multi-Jurisdictional Auditing Complexity
The NPB elected not to confirm the identity of any individual corporate applicants at this stage. However, several prominent European gaming companies have publicly confirmed that they are seeking a Finnish license. These include mobile-first specialist LeoVegas, whose Nordics Managing Director, Fredrik Wastenson, revealed on the Summit Valletta 2026 panel that the operator had already applied for two distinct licenses.
While plenty of applications have been successfully filed, it could be some time until there is news of which companies have been successful. The NPB said at present, each individual license application will take approximately six months to fully process. Previously, there was some suggestion that the license application process could close late in the summer.
However, the Board has now confirmed there is no deadline to apply and that the process is entirely “continuous”, but also urged interested parties to submit their application sooner rather than later to ensure they secure approval ahead of next summer’s launch. The Finnish Supervisory Agency is due to assume full regulatory responsibilities from July 2027 when the market opens.
Senior Advisor Juha Katainen explained that processing timelines are heavily affected by the cross-border corporate structures of the applicant pool, requesting that operators limit status update inquiries:
“The complexity of processing and evaluating applications is affected by the fact that the majority of applicants are foreign. We hope that applicants will avoid constantly contacting us about the processing status of their application, as answering enquiries takes time away from processing applications.”
