The Finnish Legislative Evaluation Council has called for a more detailed understanding of whether the new gambling framework will increase gambling harm and what impact this will have on the country's healthcare capacity.
The council, named "Lainsäädännön arviointineuvosto," is responsible for reviewing the country's pending legislation and assessing potential shortcomings. The council released its assessment of the new gambling legislation on January 2, which included questioning how Finland's new framework would increase gambling harm.
By contrast, under the current system, only monopoly operators can legally offer online gambling to consumers.
With the opening of commercial competition, it is believed that gambling-related harm could increase with the number of players. However, there may currently be a considerable number of players using the gray market, which does not provide legal protection for these gambling harms.
The committee's report states: "The proposal should describe in more detail the risks associated with fulfilling the duty of care if gambling harm increases."
"What does the increase in gambling harm mean for the compatibility of this proposal with EU law?"
Finland is set to launch gambling reform in January 2026
Finland is preparing to launch a regulated gambling industry in January 2026. Its legislative draft was submitted to the European Commission for review on November 1. Earlier this year, the bill will be submitted to Parliament for debate and final approval.
It was submitted to the Legislative Evaluation Council on December 2.
Mika Kuismanen, CEO of the Finnish Online Gambling Trade Association Rahapeliala Ry, told iGB that the law is likely to be approved by Parliament before midsummer [June 2025].
The council inquires about the preventive measures to be taken
The committee welcomed the mention of gambling harm in the legislation review, but it believes that the framework indicates that gambling harm in the jurisdiction will increase once the new law is implemented.
Therefore, the organization calls for more information on how this growth will affect services that help address these harmful behaviors. The organization also wants more information on what preventive measures will be taken in addition to mandatory government inspections.
The committee's statement said: "The Legislative Evaluation Council believes that the bill should assess various options in more detail from the perspective of reducing gambling harm, such as considering the impact of different lottery tax rates, centralized spending limits, or age [restrictions]."
Overall, it considers that the government's draft proposal meets the requirements of the new legislative impact assessment guidelines.
