Finland's National Police Board has moved to tighten enforcement against advertising for unlicensed gambling. Since the start of 2026 the Gambling Administration has issued four prohibition decisions and six conditional fines against companies and individuals promoting illegal gambling services in the country.
Fines run from €30,000 to €200,000 for individuals and from €100,000 to €1.2m for legal entities. Payments actually collected from violators that ignored a ban came in at €20,000 to €100,000. The regulator is aimed at advertising on social media, on websites and in streams, where influencers and operators pull Finnish audiences toward offshore offers.
'A conditional fine is needed not to punish, but so that illegal marketing stops immediately,' said Juhani Wallinvirta, head of group at the police board. Advertising does more than announce offers, he said — it drives demand and player engagement, which raises the risk of gambling harm.
Veikkaus Oy holds a monopoly as the only legal operator on the mainland. The market opens to competition in July 2027. By mid-October 75 companies had applied for a licence, against 50 in June. A survey in spring 2026 found payment blocking against unlicensed sites to be the most effective tool against them.
