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SPORTS BETTING
VEIKKAUS: LET THE GAMES BEGIN
Ahead of Finland’ s market liberalisation in 2027, Veikkaus’ iGaming business is arming itself with a host of new technology and talent to secure a leading position in the competitive market. By Nicole Macedo
T he gambling monopoly story is a well-worn one, but Finland’ s Veikkaus is planning to break the mould once the market liberalises in January 2027. Veikkaus has been in steady decline for some years now but historically has managed to obtain 20-30 % of the iGaming market.
Canadian Gaming Association CEO Paul Burns recently said of the Canadian market:“ Because of the large unregulated iGaming market presence in Canada, no one’ s had a monopoly for 25 years and that’ s the reality.”
The same can be said for Europe’ s remaining monopolies, including Veikkaus. Finland has played host to a thriving grey market for the last five to ten years, which means Veikkaus has unsurprisingly struggled to keep up with unlicensed peers who have not had to face anything like the same restrictions as the monopoly.
Not only has the operator faced highly innovative competition, but new player protection measures implemented in a 2022 update of the Lotteries Act in Finland also resulted in Veikkaus’ revenue taking a hit in H1 2024.
“ The visible decline in the purchasing power of consumers has affected Veikkaus’ business,” Group Managing Director Olli Sarekoski said in its H1 2024 earnings report.“ Our number of customers is still at a good level, but the amount of money played by customers is average.” Active players increased by 15,000 during the three-month period to 2.5 million.
Some close to the Finnish iGaming sector have suggested the government pushed through its gambling reform last summer to revive the suffering monopoly business. And Veikkaus is broadly optimistic it can complete this turnaround successfully. Sarekoski admitted in the earnings report that the operator was aiming to take a leading position in the competitive market.
WELCOMING A NEW LEADER
The overhaul commenced with the hiring of iGaming EVP Jarkko Nordlund in September 2023. Nordlund has an extensive background in consumer entertainment, having spent years leading and advising the Finnish broadcast arms of television, music and streaming services like MTV, Universal Music and Canal Plus. Nordlund was undoubtedly brought on as Veikkaus’ secret weapon, to build out a sufficiently competitive iGaming business.
“ I have a long background in the entertainment industry,” he explains.
30 • ISSUE 138 • iGB L! VE 2025