The Constitutional Committee of Finland’s Parliament has recommended changes and clarifications to legislation shaping the future of its gambling industry, having identified some issues.

The Finnish Gambling Act was submitted as a bill back in March with the ultimate goal of introducing a multi-licence market by 2027. This would end the monopoly held by Veikkaus Oy, the state-owned lottery, betting and gaming operator, which is supportive of the move.

Various political parties across the parliamentary spectrum are also supportive of the bill, which is seen as necessary so Finland can take greater control of gambling and steer players away from betting with offshore unlicensed companies.

According to the Constitutional Committee, the bill needs more work, however. The Committee has notably called it vague in specific areas, leaving certain provisions of the legislation open to interpretation.

This relates to its second criticism – that the legislation risks restriction of ‘freedom of business and expression’, fundamental rights under Finnish law. As a statute that must be adhered to, the Constitutional Committee argues that any legal changes around this cannot be ‘left to interpretation’.

The same can also be said of marketing provisions. The legislation limits betting marketing to marketing that is ‘moderate’ in visibility and frequency, but again the Committee argues that this definition is too vague and needs nailing down.

Administrative Committee to get to work

The legislation has now been returned to the parliamentary Administrative Committee, which has been tasked with ironing out the ambiguities of the bill identified by the Committee.

The Committee’s priorities will be clarifying what is meant by ‘moderate marketing’ – this will be critical as the market develops, with stakeholders uncertain, for now, as to whether affiliate marketing will be permitted, and how closely they can work with sports organisations and relevant stakeholders. 

With some stakeholders having already signed sports sponsorship deals – the Åland Islands-based Paf has partnered with Formula One legend Kimi Räikkönen for example – the industry, and prospective market entrants, will be keen to know what they can and can’t do.

On the topic of the Åland Islands, the Administrative Committee has been tasked with figuring out how the Gambling Act will coexist with the Åland Self-Government Act. This will be significant due to the aforementioned Paf being the state-owned company of the self-governing island territory, though it does appear to have nationwide expansion on its mind.

The big one

A final talking point in the legislation, and one on the minds of countless people in the European gaming industry right now, is taxation. The European betting sector has been contending with a lot of tax raises over the past year or so.

The Netherlands in particular stands out, having prompted some mid-level companies like LiveScore to withdraw from the market. Tax raises are now on the horizon in the UK and have prompted a discussion so fierce the horse racing sector took the drastic action to go on strike.

In Finland, the Gambling Act’s taxation framework has been criticised as ‘somewhat confusing’ by the Constitutional Committee. The MPs of the Administrative Committee have now been asked to ensure tax is propionate and not ‘confiscatory’.

At only eight pages long, the Constitutional Committee’s criticisms of the Gambling Act and recommendations for how it can be approved are hardly an essay. This may bode well for stakeholders interested in the market, suggesting that it is well on track for the planned 2027 launch.

However, some of the areas highlighted are significant ones nonetheless, particularly around marketing and tax. Interested companies will want to know what exactly they are getting in for before going into the market full force in two years time.

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