gambling). Regulatory reforms appear to have stalled in the country. On 1 May 2025, amendments to Croatia’ s gambling legislation took effect, which, among other things, set out wide-ranging restrictions on advertising and marketing and introduced measures on responsible gambling.
CYPRUS
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Sports betting, horse race betting and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: OPAP has a monopoly over lottery operations; betting licences are available to private operators. STATUS: Cyprus regulated online betting in July 2012, although a licensing regime was not established until 2016. ISPs are obliged to implement blocking measures to prohibit Cypriot residents from accessing unlicensed gambling websites. A betting law, which entered into force in March 2019, replaced the 2012 Betting Law. The provisions of the 2019 law are substantially the same, with minor amends introduced to address EU incompatibility concerns under the previous law( such as the requirement to have a local branch in order to obtain a betting licence). In July 2021 the local regulator introduced rules and restrictions on gambling advertising.
CZECH REPUBLIC
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: EU and EEA-based operators are able to apply for licences. STATUS: The gambling regulatory regime, which entered into force in the Czech Republic on 1 January 2017, allows EU / EEA companies to enter the market. ISP-blocking measures are active in the jurisdiction.
DENMARK
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Sports betting, fantasy sports, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: Licences for all gambling products are available to private operators save for lotteries, which are controlled by the state monopoly. STATUS: The Danish online gambling regime went live on 1 January 2012. The Danish Gaming Authority( DGA) is an active regulator and has been known to obtain website blocking orders in relation to operators and suppliers that target Danish customers without the requisite licence. As of 1 January 2020, licensed operators are required to ensure that customers have set deposit limits before they are allowed to gamble, although it is understood this applies to online casino only. On 1 July 2024 amendments to the Gambling Act that enhance the DGA’ s enforcement powers entered into force. On 1 January 2025, provisions that established a B2B licensing regime in Denmark took effect.
ESTONIA
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: Licences for all gambling products are available to private operators save for lotteries, which are reserved for the monopoly operator. STATUS: Operators seeking to accept business from players in Estonia must be issued an activity licence for the type of gambling they wish to offer, then an operating permit to provide the services online. A blacklist of operators is maintained and updated by local authorities and ISP and payment blocking is in force. Though
some operators argue that the regime is still not compatible with EU law, no notification alleging incompatibility has been issued by the EC since the requirement for licensees to maintain servers in Estonia was removed.
FINLAND
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: All gambling products are under the exclusive control of monopoly provider Veikkaus Oy. STATUS: Despite the existence of a national monopoly, EC enforcement action was dropped subsequent to various changes to Finnish laws. Active enforcement measures are in place( restrictive marketing for offshore operators in particular). In January 2022, amendments to Finland’ s gambling law entered into force which granted the Police Board new powers to take administrative action against private operators that target the Finnish market. Provisions concerning payment blocking measures entered into force on 1 January 2023. On 1 November 2024, Finland notified draft legislation to the European Commission, which would have the effect of bringing about an end to the Veikkaus Oy monopoly and replacing it with the introduction of an open licensing regime for both B2C and B2B operators. On 20 March 2025, draft legislation was submitted to the Finnish parliament, which envisages that gambling companies may apply for licences from the beginning of 2026 with licensed operations going live from 2027 onwards. In addition, on 13 March 2025, a proposal to establish a new authority tasked with licensing and supervision ahead of the opening of the liberalised market was submitted to parliament.
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