The Finnish Police Board (NPB), which regulates gambling in Finland, has issued a prohibition order against state monopoly operator Veikkaus for marketing gambling to minors. This decision cites violations of the Finnish Lotteries Act, the main law governing gambling, and includes a conditional fine of €2.9 million.

The NPB is responsible for overseeing lotteries and gambling activities in Finland and has the authority to prohibit unlawful gambling operations and marketing practices.

Marketing violations leading to the prohibition order

The NPB found that Veikkaus violated the Lotteries Act by targeting gambling advertisements at minors through television broadcasts. Despite receiving warnings in May 2024, Veikkaus continued these activities. The violations primarily included advertisements aired during programmes aimed at or appealing to children.

For instance, marketing campaigns appeared during Saturday family movie broadcasts, such as animated film Riku Haikara. The NPB noted that animated content, especially when aired during family-friendly time slots, inherently appeals to younger audiences. Additional infringements were found in programmes such as The Simpsons, Masked Singer Suomi and other family programmes where marketing took place at times when children were most likely to be watching television. The NPB documented over 200 instances of such unlawful marketing conducted by Veikkaus during 2023 and early 2024, particularly during weekend morning broadcasts and family movies. Veikkaus must cease all such activities to comply with the prohibition order. Failure to do so could result in the enforcement of the €2.9 million fine.

Current marketing restrictions aim to protect minors

The current gambling law imposes strict rules on Veikkaus to ensure responsible gambling marketing and minimize the negative effects of gambling. These rules, designed to justify the state monopoly under EU law, prohibit targeting minors or vulnerable individuals and ban including minors in promotional content.

Specifically, gambling advertisements are forbidden on television, radio, in cinemas, and in publications aimed at or appealing to minors or young people. As the only operator allowed to market gambling under the Act, these provisions apply solely to Veikkaus, while private operators are prohibited from any gambling marketing.

Do past violations affect licensing under the new regime?

Finnish gambling regulations are being reformed as the online gambling market is set to liberalise in 2026. Under the new regime, licensing requirements include reliability and suitability criteria. These stipulate that applicants penalised for violating the Lotteries Act cannot obtain a licence until two years after the sanction.

At first glance, this provision might seem to prevent Veikkaus from obtaining a license within two years of the prohibition order. However, a detailed review of the bill's commentary clarifies that this restriction applies only to private operators, not Veikkaus. Therefore, Veikkaus remains eligible for licenses, whether as the exclusive operator for on-site gambling or as a non-exclusive operator for online gambling. 

The draft act indicates that the rule is intended for external operators penalised for violating the Lotteries Act outside the current monopoly system. Consequently, any past or future penalties issued to Veikkaus will not affect its licensing eligibility under the new framework.