Wildz Group confirms receipt of Finnish online gambling licence ahead of 2027 launch

Wildz Group says it has completed Finland's online gambling licensing process and received a licence to operate when the country's regulated market opens on 1 July 2027. The company, headquartered in Malta, announced the outcome in a LinkedIn post by board member Lasse Rantala and said preparations for the July launch are continuing. The official Finnish regulator, the National Police Board (Poliisi), has not yet published a list of approved operators or confirmed outcomes publicly.

Wildz Group secures Finnish online gambling licence

Wildz Group publicly stated that it successfully completed the licensing procedure that the Finnish authorities opened earlier this year. Writing on LinkedIn, Wildz Group board member Lasse Rantala said:

"We have successfully completed the licensing process and preparations for the launch in July 2027 are continuing." — Lasse Rantala, Wildz Group board member

The company is the first operator to make a public announcement that it has been granted a licence for Finland's forthcoming regulated online market. The licence permits Wildz Group to operate under the framework established by the new regulatory regime once that regime takes effect on 1 July 2027.

How the Finnish Gambling Act shapes the market and licence process

Finland's regulated online market will open under the new Finnish Gambling Act, which ends the state-owned operator Veikkaus's monopoly on online gambling. The application window opened on 1 March 2026. Applicants were required to pay a €29,000 processing fee and there was no cap on the number of licences the National Police Board could issue.

By 22 September 2026 the National Police Board had received 75 licence applications, a total the authority described in its reporting as higher than expected for a country with a population of 5.6 million. The regulator has not disclosed whether it will publish a definitive list of approved operators or if decisions on other applications have been finalised.

Market interest, applicants and named entrants

The high number of applications has drawn attention across the industry. Several operators publicly confirmed they had applied, including the incumbent state operator Veikkaus and Hippos ATG. Market participants and observers have flagged the application volume as an indicator of strong commercial interest in the newly liberalised Finnish market.

At the same time, some industry figures have expressed reservations about specific elements of the government's proposed regulatory framework. Measures singled out in industry commentary include a statutory cooling-off period and a ban on affiliate marketing, both of which some stakeholders warn could affect channelisation and commercial viability.

Regulatory timeline and practical next steps for operators

• 1 March 2026: Licence application window opened.

• 22 September 2026: National Police Board reported receipt of 75 licence applications.

• 1 July 2027: Finland's regulated online gambling market is scheduled to open under the Finnish Gambling Act.

Operators that have applied must now complete any outstanding licence conditions imposed by the National Police Board and finalise commercial and technical readiness for the July 2027 live date. That includes compliance with the Act's licensing conditions, payment of the processing fee already charged, and any market-entry preparations operators choose to undertake.

Vendors and service providers should expect demand from licence-holders for compliance tooling, reporting integrations and player-protection measures ahead of the launch. Platform changes and operational preparations are likely to be concentrated in the months following licence award, given the fixed market opening date.

Questions left open by the National Police Board and industry implications

The National Police Board's public communications confirm the number of applications received but have not provided a public register of successful applicants. It remains unclear whether the authority will publish approved operators before the 1 July 2027 market opening or whether licence decisions on other applicants have already been completed.

The absence of an official published list has left market observers relying on operator statements for confirmation of approvals. That dynamic raises practical questions for competitors, payment providers and affiliates about when commercial activity for new licence-holders may lawfully commence.

What this means for channelisation and market structure

Finland will be one of the later European markets to move from a monopoly model to an open licensing regime, following Sweden's transition in 2019. The announced ban on affiliate marketing and the government's proposed cooling-off requirements were both highlighted by industry sources as potential impediments to channelisation into the regulated market.

Those measures remain part of the proposed regulatory framework and are under discussion in industry commentary. Stakeholders have argued that restrictions on affiliates could limit regulated operators' ability to reach customers who previously used unlicensed channels, while the cooling-off measure may impose additional operational burdens.

Immediate practical takeaways for operators and suppliers

Operators already engaged in Finland should assume the market opening date of 1 July 2027 is fixed and continue to progress technical and compliance work following any licence award. Suppliers of compliance, payments and platform services should plan for a concentrated delivery window of integration, testing and reporting ahead of the live date.

Relevant reading on regulatory change and market-entry considerations is available in our /regulation and /b2b coverage, which track licensing developments and vendor requirements in liberalising European markets.

The public announcement from Wildz Group marks the first confirmed operator statement of licence receipt, but the National Police Board's silence on a published approvals list means other approvals may also exist without public disclosure.