The gambling regulator of Finland imposes higher fines to strengthen the enforcement against illegal gambling.
On Wednesday, the National Police Board (NPB) released a report claiming that in 2026, 4 prohibition decisions were issued and 6 conditional fines were imposed, that was linked to the illegal promotion of gambling services. For individuals fines ranged from €30,000 to €200,000 and for companies from €100,000 to €1.2m.
Juhani Wallinvirta, Head of Group at the regulator, said:
The imposition of a conditional fine may be considered necessary to ensure an immediate and effective end to the illegal marketing of gambling games. The purpose of the conditional fine is not to punish illegal activities, but to reinforce compliance with the prohibition decision and to ensure that illegal marketing actually cease.
According to the regulator, the advertising of illegal gambling is gaining more popularity in social networks and during online gambling streaming, which is aimed at players that live in mainland Finland. In Finland, only Veikkaus Oy is entitled to advertise gambling services on the territory of the country.
The NPB explained that conditional fines are usually employed when illegal advertising happens even after the authorities sent warnings or when police representatives fear that the service provider can disregard prohibition.
The regulator emphasized that the fines are applied only after the prohibition is broken by the offender.
Wallinvirta added:
The National Police Board orders the payment of a conditional fine imposed to reinforce the prohibition decision only in those cases where the prohibition decision is not complied with within the specified time limit.
The police report was published weeks after the gambling regulator of Finland announced that there has been a significant increase in requests for applications for license due to an opening of the market starting from 1 July 2027.
By September 22, the National Police Board has received 75 requests, with 50 of them registered in June, which indicates a rising interest in the new licensing process.
