Another country regulates gambling – What it means for Malta’s iGaming giants

The world of online gambling is ever-changing. Every country in the world has its own laws and regulations for gambling, yet these laws seem to be in constant flux. As the industry grows, new players emerge, and gambling revenues worldwide also increase. Naturally, this is not lost on countries and their governments, who are keeping tabs on all the money flowing outside of their borders.

Over the years, several European countries have decided to give up on their gambling monopolies in order to adopt a more open model of doing things. Now, after seeing the success of its western neighbour Sweden, Finland is also going to make the jump. In this article, we go over what has been happening in Finland and how the country’s change might affect the Maltese iGaming industry at large.

Finnish gambling has long roots

Finland has often been deemed as one of the last Mohicans when it comes to monopolised gambling. Since the 1940s, Finland has maintained a government-created monopoly on all gambling. This monopoly has included everything from state-run lotteries, scratchcards, casino games, and sports betting.

For the longest time, the monopoly would survive with no noticeable chinks in its armor. However, this all began to change in the early 2000s when online gambling became a thing.

Like so many other monopolies, the Finnish gambling industry had made sure that its games were extremely profitable and lucrative for the state. In the context of gambling, this means low RTPs on just about every game category, including slot machines. Once the online casino floodgates finally opened, this would incentivise a lot of avid Finnish gamblers to make the jump to the more open and competitive online market.

In addition to having higher RTPs, Maltese online casinos also had various other benefits. This included massive game selections as well as partnering up with the likes of the Finnish Euteller to allow lightning-fast signups and withdrawals. What is more, most Maltese online casinos would give their newest customers deposit bonuses and free spins as welcome gifts.

After a few years, the Finnish gambling monopoly would start losing a lot of its yearly revenue to its online competitors. To make matters worse, Finnish politicians were unable to do anything about it. Despite the fact that Finland had a gambling monopoly on its own soil, online casinos operating outside of the borders could not be deterred by mere Finnish laws.

Finland starting to regulate in 2027

After a while of fighting a losing battle against Maltese windmills, the Finnish government would finally have to admit defeat. Instead of continuing with its losing effort, the government would announce that the country would be changing to a regulated system. In this system, online casinos from around the world would finally be able to apply for a new Finnish license in order to enter the market.

The new Finnish gambling system is said to go into effect on January 1st, 2027. Exactly a year before that, online casinos can start applying for their licenses by sending in all the necessary documents.

How will the change affect the Maltese iGaming industry?

For now, there are still many unanswered questions about how the new Finnish online casino system will play out. Even so, it is already clear that many casinos operating under the Malta Gambling Authority license will be turning in their licenses and switching to a Finnish license. This will undoubtedly lead to a decrease in MGA’s revenue.

On a larger scale, the new Finnish system could actually end up helping Malta. This is because more Maltese gambling companies, game providers, and perhaps even affiliates will be able to access the Finnish market than ever before. Granted, many Finnish people have already been frequenting Maltese casinos before, but there are still a lot of uninitiated masses that have not.

In the end, a lot of things are still hinging on the specifics of the new system. If the Finnish government goes too hard on, for example, online casino bonuses, chances are that some casinos might actually still opt to keep serving their customers through the MGA license instead of the Finnish one.

Only time will tell what the final ramifications for the industry will be. As they say: the devil is in the details.

Diclaimer: Players must be 18 years + to partake in any gambling, betting or casino activity. Players are urged to seek help if they require it. Players play at their own risk.