Veikkaus has joined the Finnish Gambling Industry Association, taking a seat in the trade body that will speak for licensed operators when Finland opens its gambling market to competition in July 2027.
The state-owned operator has spent the past months rebuilding itself for the end of its monopoly on betting, casino games and slot machines. Finland approved the regulations underpinning the multi-licensing model earlier this year, with licences due to take effect from 1 July 2027. Veikkaus keeps exclusive rights to lottery products. Online casino and betting move to a competitive market open to international operators.
The association was founded in 2022 and has campaigned on responsible gaming standards and on the shape of the incoming licensing regime. Its members are largely companies that argued for years that the monopoly was failing to keep Finnish players on regulated sites. Veikkaus was on the other side of that argument as the monopoly holder, which makes its membership the clearest signal yet that it now expects to be judged as one commercial licensee among many.
Veikkaus joins gambling trade association
Veikkaus CEO Olli Sarekoski framed the move as a matter of shared industry interest rather than a change of position.
“The regulation of the gambling industry is changing across Europe, and Finland is no exception. Therefore, it is natural for us to be involved in the protection of the interests of the industry together with key players. We want to strengthen the protection of the interests of the gambling industry, and co-operation is very important in ensuring the functionality of the future system. For us, it is also a key way to promote the common goals of the industry.”
Mika Kuismanen, CEO of the Finnish Gambling Industry Association, said the two sides had already been working together on the reform.
“It is really great to have Veikkaus involved in the activities of the Finnish Gambling Industry Association. Over the past couple of years, we have had good co-operation with Veikkaus to reform the Finnish gambling market. Veikkaus is a significant player in Finland, and its membership strengthens the representativeness and expertise of the industry’s advocacy. Veikkaus brings with it a wealth of experience and know-how from the Finnish gambling market.”
The practical value for the association is access. Veikkaus holds decades of Finnish player data, marketing history and channelisation experience that no incoming licensee can match, and that material carries weight in arguments over tax rates, advertising rules and player protection requirements still being settled before the market opens.
Preparing for the July 2027 opening
Trade association membership sits alongside a wider internal programme. Veikkaus has confirmed 22 new roles to cover functions it did not need as a monopoly, including commercial, technology and compliance work that only becomes relevant once it has to win customers rather than receive them by default.
The company faces two problems at once. It has to defend a player base that has never had a legal alternative in Finland, and it has to do so while its own costs rise under a licensing and tax structure designed for a competitive market. Operators already serving Finnish customers from offshore licences will arrive with established brands, affiliate networks and pricing that Veikkaus has never had to answer.
Veikkaus leadership changes
The C-level team has been reshaped ahead of the transition. Ilkka Kosola was appointed chief financial officer earlier this year. Chris Armes joins from High 5 Games as chief technology officer, moving from a role overseeing technology and operations there, and starts in autumn 2026.
Velipekka Nummikoski, formerly deputy CEO, left at the end of August after 14 years with the operator and its predecessor. He had led Finland’s Slot Machine Association (RAY) from 2012 and stayed on through the 2017 merger that created the current Veikkaus.
Sarekoski, who has run Veikkaus since 2017, is now the main continuity in a leadership group otherwise rebuilt for the licensed market.
What happens next
The detail of the regime is not finished. Licence conditions, marketing restrictions and the supervisory approach of the new regulator are still being worked through, and the association is one of the channels through which operators will press their case on all three. Having Veikkaus inside that process gives the trade body a stronger hand with Finnish policymakers, and gives Veikkaus a route into positions it previously had to argue alone.
Applications and licence awards will show how many operators intend to compete for Finnish players from 1 July 2027. Until then, the question for Veikkaus is whether the preparation buys it enough of a head start to hold the market share its monopoly guaranteed.
Source: Veikkaus
