Experts warn Finland market opening in July 2027 will increase gambling advertising

The opening of Finland’s gambling market in July 2027 may substantially increase gambling advertising, panel participants in Helsinki warned. The debate took place at the Paf Åktoberfest event and brought together Paula Paloranta, general secretary of the Mainonnan eettinen neuvosto; Riku Buri, tutkimusohjaaja at the Kilpailu- ja kuluttajavirasto (KKV); and Sverker Skogberg, director of social relations at Paf. The discussion was conducted by journalist Ivan Puopolo.

Panel and participants

The panel at Paf Åktoberfest examined responsibility for gambling advertising, player protection and the objectives of the licensing system. Speakers were:

• Paula Paloranta, general secretary of the Mainonnan eettinen neuvosto

• Riku Buri, tutkimusohjaaja at the Kilpailu- ja kuluttajavirasto (KKV)

• Sverker Skogberg, yhteiskuntasuhdejohtaja at Paf

• Moderator: Ivan Puopolo

KKV, represented by Riku Buri, warned during the session that gambling harms will increase after the market opens in July 2027. Buri proposed measures such as limiting web traffic and implementing payment blocks, and he said these tools were not used sufficiently in the preparations for the new system.

Risks flagged and comparisons with Sweden

Buri referred to the experience in Ruotsi (Sweden), where the transition to a licensing regime and stricter regulation did not, in his view, lead to a reduction in gambling harms. He said the starting point in Finland is worrying because the share of players with a risk profile is higher than in Ruotsi.

Skogberg warned that while individual campaigns may comply with the law, the aggregate volume of advertising can become “annoying” for consumers. He described a marked rise in gambling advertising around sports broadcasts in Ruotsi following market opening.

Paloranta emphasised protection of minors. She noted that advertising can be problematic even if it is not explicitly aimed at children, where it reaches them or uses visual elements — for example, animated characters — that attract younger audiences.

Advertising responsibility and targeting

Speakers discussed how difficult it is to assess advertising responsibility based on single ads alone. Buri argued responsibility must be measured from the perspective of gambling harms and called advertising that targets people with control problems or increases uncontrolled gambling irresponsible.

Buri highlighted that targeting on social networks is especially challenging because of platform algorithms, while television, radio and outdoor advertising make it possible to limit visibility by time and place.

Skogberg partly disagreed about the scope of technical limits advertisers can impose to prevent their messages reaching minors or other undesired groups, saying companies have options to minimise delivery of their ads to inappropriate audiences.

Channeling, treatment of players and cited data

In the discussion about the licensing objective, Buri said the system aims to channel gambling into the regulated framework where control tools can be offered and activity monitored. He recalled that before the change, roughly half of online gambling was directed away from Veikkaus. Buri added that the great majority of those who contacted Peluuri for help were playing products offered by operators other than Veikkaus.

Skogberg stressed that the degree of channeling must be watched from the start, because an excessively restrictive regulated experience could push users to sites outside the licensing system. Both speakers underlined the central tension of the new regime: bringing players into the regulated environment while at the same time reducing gambling harms.