Local consultant Jari Vähänen warns that once Finland's online gambling market is legalized in 2027, Veikkaus might have a significant competitive advantage over licensed operators.
Finnish Gambling Consultant Company (FGC) partner Vähänen suggests that the Finnish government should sell its monopoly ownership of Veikkaus. The Treasury will form a new regulatory body for the re-regulated market, and Vähänen believes that having the dual role of operator and authority would create a conflict of interest.
The Finnish government published a draft law on the legalization of online gambling in June. The government has initiated a consultation period, asking stakeholders to provide feedback by August 18.
"The Finnish government wants to maintain a dual role, responsible for gambling legislation and supervision, while owning companies engaged in gambling activities. This model poses a high risk of conflict of interest," says FGC's response.
Vähänen notes that the Finnish Justice Minister and the Competition and Consumer Authority also mentioned this in their proposal responses.
At the time of the draft regulation's release, the Ministry of the Interior hinted at the possibility of selling its stake in Veikkaus.
The ministry stated at the time: "If it is sensible from a perspective of national shareholder value development, the state may have an opportunity to relinquish its partial ownership in Veikkaus."
Can Veikkaus' accredited enterprise access its original database?
Vähänen believes that Veikkaus' traditional player database and technology stack will give it an unfair advantage in competition with licensed online rivals, who can legally enter the licensed Finnish gambling market in 2027.
Under the new regulation, Veikkaus will be split into several independent operating departments, including its monopoly division, B2B operations Fennica Gaming, and the licensed online gambling business. The setup will be similar to Sweden's former monopoly operator Svenska Spel or Denmark's Danske Spil.
The monopoly enterprise will retain exclusive rights to operate lotteries, multigame-based sports betting, physical slot machines, and scratch cards, and will pay an annual fee to maintain exclusive rights.
However, Vähänen mentions that it is still unclear how to distinguish the online business from the monopoly business. From 2013 to 2020, he held various positions at Veikkaus for a period of seven years.
He estimates Veikkaus' customer base is worth hundreds of millions of euros and calls for clear policies on whether Veikkaus can transfer existing customers to its licensed business.
Vähänen states: "Companies operating in a competitive market should not use resources in a way that distorts competition and that are shared with the same group's monopoly company."
