Companies face conditional fines of up to €1.2 million, and individuals who ignored bans have been ordered to pay up to €100,000.
Finland’s National Police Board (NPB) has issued more prohibition decisions and conditional fines for illegal gambling marketing in 2026 than in previous years, it said on 14 October. The board says this marketing typically runs on social media and in gaming and gambling livestreams.
Four prohibition decisions and six conditional fines
So far in 2026, the Gambling Administration at the NPB has issued four prohibition decisions under the Lotteries Act and ordered six conditional fines to be paid. The decisions covered gambling marketing on websites and social media. The NPB says the totals are clearly higher than in previous years, but it did not publish earlier figures.
The fines so far break down as follows:
| Individuals | Companies | |
| Conditional fines set | €30,000 to €200,000 | €100,000 to €1.2 million |
| Fines ordered to be paid | €20,000 to €100,000 | None reported |
A conditional fine becomes payable only if the party fails to comply with the prohibition within the set time limit. So far, every fine ordered to be paid has been imposed on an individual.
How the NPB enforces the ban
The NPB can issue a prohibition decision to a company or an individual, and as a rule it backs the decision with a conditional fine. It sets the amount based on the scope and nature of the breach and on the party’s ability to pay.
A conditional fine is used when illegal marketing continues despite a warning from the NPB and there are grounds to assume the provider will not otherwise comply.
Juhani Wallinvirta, head of group at the NPB, said:
‘The purpose of the conditional fine is not to punish illegal activities, but to reinforce compliance with the prohibition decision and to ensure that illegal marketing actually ceases.’
He added:
‘Under existing law, only Veikkaus Oy has the right to market gambling games in mainland Finland.’
Finland has also blocked payments to blacklisted offshore operators since 2023. In an April 2026 Bilendi survey of 1,000 Finns aged 18 to 65, commissioned by affiliate Turtlebet, 32.4% named payment blocking as the most effective single tool against illegal gambling.
What changes when the market opens in July 2027
Veikkaus keeps its monopoly until the end of June 2027. Finland’s licensed market opens on 1 July 2027, when the Finnish Supervisory Agency takes over licensing and supervision from the NPB.
Under the new Gambling Act, licensed operators may market on their own websites and social media accounts, as long as that marketing does not interact with consumers. The Act bans influencer marketing and direct marketing by phone.
Operator interest in the licensed market keeps growing. The NPB had received 75 licence applications by 22 September, up from 50 reported in June.
