Finland’s state lottery and betting company, Veikkaus, has a big year ahead of it in 2027 – the transformation of the country’s gambling market, which will bring the monopoly held by the company to an end, a move it is fully supportive of.
From July 2027, Finland will host Europe’s newest betting market, as Veikkaus and the government look to regain control of channelisation. Veikkaus is now preparing for a market which will see bonusing and betting marketing take place in Finland for the first time.
Olli Sarekoski, Veikkaus Chief Executive Officer, tells SBC News that 2025 was a “big year of investment” for the company, the main focus being digital channels. This area has the most “growth potential”, with around 80% of Finnish gaming taking place digitally.
“We need different tools, skills and competencies for when the regulation changes. At the moment we cannot use bonuses, so we need to build those tools so that our systems have this function.
“We need to build out those competencies to use that. 2025 was for us a year of big investments in the technological way, but also in recruitment. We recruited some talent from the international market, so we are capable of building our ability of using those new tools that are provided.
“By the end of this year, we will publish the new digital channels and apps, but still upgrade. It was a year of investment and building the basement of the house that will be ready next year.”
Taking Veikkaus beyond Finland
This investment will not just be relevant for Finland, however, and the new regulated market that will launch there next summer. This is not the only transformation on Veikkaus’ agenda.
International growth has been on the table for some time, with its full year 2025 report detailing an ambition to cement its place as “a respected and successful international money gaming group by 2030”.
B2B operations are the core pillar of Veikkaus’ international activity. And at the core of its B2B activity is Fennica Gaming, its B2B studio. From its HQ in Helsinki, Fennica is active in 21 regulated markets across Europe, North America and Latin America.
Jonas Reuter, Executive Vice-President, Veikkaus International, gives SBC News an overview of Fennica’s operations in iLottery and online casinos. The firm’s work is grounded in Finland, where it has a “good studio, local network, and local and international studio partners” following investment in both lottery and iGaming.
“This has created a special DNA in our type of games,” Reuter says confidently. “We want to expand internationally around the world, test our wings internationally and form new partnerships.”
Fennica has been busy expanding its reach over the past seven months. Reuter details how the firm has gone live in Ontario and now Alberta, which became the second Canadian province to launch a regulated betting market this summer.
Progress has also been made in Italy, where Fennica has partnered with Flutter Entertainment’s Sisal, a major local player, and Brightstar Lottery, one of the four companies in the LottoItalia consortium. It is also active in Brazil’s online casino market.
“We are working hard to understand the player preferences in each market and refine our games and game math to suit local tastes,” Reuter says, reflecting on the intricacies of embarking on a wide ranging global expansion.
“But with breaking into the markets, we have succeeded very well as we see it. Also an important part of our strategy is that we only work with regulated markets and regulated operators.
“That is something we are putting a lot of focus on. Of course that means we have to say no to a certain type of business, but it is also important that our current partners and operators we work with keep that profile.
“We want to get out, get more international partners, and learn from other markets on how those consumers are reacting to our games. This helps us to get a sense of what trends in a market on the game side that we can use in the Finnish side.”
Learning and adapting
For Veikkaus, B2B operations are top priority as it expands internationally, Fennica’s Reuter notes that B2C operations could one day fall within the scope of its international strategy, but not for now – for now, soon-to-be-regulated-Finland is the main focus for its B2C activity.
“Our priority today is to scale Fennica’s B2B footprint, product and partnerships around the world, partnerships that of course could come to use in the Finnish market as we grow in economies of scale,” Reuter adds.
As with any business, expanding one’s international profile comes with obvious benefits and challenges. Veikaus and Fennica see these two as one and the same to some extent, however, with its international growth bringing valuable learning opportunities.
This learning opportunity could come in even more useful when the Finnish market goes live.
“To get more of an international mindset in terms of products and how we operate, we need to get out there,” says Reuter. “We need to get into partnerships under the regulations we have, which is to act as a B2B provider using the systems and games we’ve built in house and take them to other markets.
“Through the partnerships, that is how we as a group and as a company learn to operate in the new environment. When we are put against challenges, whether internationally but also in the Finnish market, we have international partners we can reach out to and work with.
“I think that is very important for the culture of Veikkaus as a group.”
The international landscape of iGaming is changing, however, and in many markets conditions are becoming more difficult. General macroeconomic conditions are affecting customer spend, but by far the most burdensome are stricter regulations and tax rates.
In Brazil, for example, one of the markets where Fennica has recently expanded its footprint, the government is becoming increasingly frustrated with the barely two years old regulated gaming market, and the tax rate on gross gaming revenue (GGR) is due to go up from 12% to 18% by 2028.
“Taxation levels, marketing regulations, and other elements we can see taking place in many markets, have an impact on companies considering market entries, or if you are considering purchasing something,” says Sarekoski.
“It’s difficult to make the calculations when changes take place that are not easily predicted. I think this is also one part of the channeling question.
“You should be able to predict the business environment in five or 10 years, so that business decisions can be based on a sustainable understanding of the environment.”
The challenges many modern betting and gaming markets present are a source of confidence for Veikkaus as well, however, even if company leadership acknowledges the difficult tasks ahead of it.
Reuter notes that while regulations are tightening across multiple markets, which can make business difficult, this is making operators more focused on compliance and creating “an attractive user experience with less aggressive tools”.
This could be a big opportunity for Fennica. Retuer believes, stating that “this kind of culture” is one Fennica and Veikkaus are steeped in.
“The mix of the two can create a good group, but as a B2B provider we believe that our way of operating is becoming more and more needed,” he adds.
Summarising Veikkaus’ international ambitions, Sarekoski states that the firm is prioritising “growth beyond Finnish borders, and scalability of the tech platform,” as it’s all too aware of the fierce competition it faces internationally as well.
“It’s difficult to be competitive enough and efficient enough to compete with the international giants, but I think we are becoming more international, more digital and a company with growth,” Sarekoski remarks.