How Finland’s 2027 Gambling Reform Changes Affiliate Marketing

Learn how Finland’s 2027 gambling reform will affect betting affiliate marketing, licensing, SEO, compliance, and operator partnerships. 

How Finland’s 2027 Gambling Reform Changes Betting Affiliate Marketing before the new market opens

The Finnish gambling market is preparing for its biggest overhaul in many years. Starting July 1, 2027, sports betting, online casinos, and some other products will transition from the Veikkaus monopoly to a licensing model, while certain categories will remain with the operator holding the exclusive license. For affiliates, Finland’s gambling reform means more than just the emergence of new offers. The operator’s status, promotion rules, content compliance with the law, and traffic sources are coming to the forefront.

By July 2027, affiliate projects would be wise to review what may have worked for years without significant changes. An operator’s page will no longer be limited to commission rates, bonuses, and the amount of affiliate payouts. For queries related to online gambling in Finland, you’ll need to verify who has actually obtained a license, which products it covers, and the effective date when the brand can operate under the new rules. This is one of the practical aspects of affiliate marketing in the context of Finland’s gambling reform: an attractive offer may turn out to be unsuitable for Finnish traffic, and an old review may require a more substantial overhaul than simply replacing a few links.

Why Finland is reforming its Gambling Market instead of keeping the old monopoly?

The essence of gambling reform is not simply to allow more operators. Finland aims to direct the majority of gambling activity toward services that are regulated domestically and supervised by local authorities. 

The new model divides the market. Competition is opening up in the following areas:

• betting;
• online slots.

Veikkaus retains an exclusive license for, among other things, lotteries, scratch cards, and brick-and-mortar slot machines and casinos.

Therefore, Finnish gambling regulation is effectively shifting from protecting a monopoly to regulating licensed competition. For online gambling in Finland, this creates a completely different environment, where an operator’s legality can be verified based on its licensing status.

Key timeline of the 2027 Gambling Reform and the transition period

The transition has already begun, although the competitive market will not open until 2027. Applications for gambling licenses will be accepted starting March 1, 2026, and the fee for processing a single application in 2026 is €29,000. The estimated processing time is approximately 6 months.

For partners, the key dates are as follows:

1. March 1, 2026 — start of application acceptance;
2. June 30, 2027 — end of the old regime;
3. July 1, 2027 — launch of the licensed market;
4. July 1, 2028 — start of software license requirements.

That is why it’s important to start tracking the latest gambling regulation news now. Operators won’t be able to simply obtain a license and start operating immediately: before launch, they must undergo the required audits and connect to the supervisory system. For affiliates, this transition period provides time to adapt their content to the new online gambling regulations.

What changes for Betting Affiliates when licensed competition begins

For affiliate sites, the main change lies in the pool of potential partners itself. Today, the rules are significantly stricter: the police explicitly classify affiliate sites that receive compensation for referred players as gambling marketing, and promoting other operators in mainland Finland is prohibited under the current regulations.

After July 1, 2027, the review of an offer must begin with the following:

• whether the operator holds a Finnish license;
• what products the license covers;
• when the operator is permitted to begin offering them;
• whether the campaign complies with marketing rules;
• whether a specific traffic channel may be used;
• whether the content meets responsible gaming requirements.

The new gambling licensing process thus becomes part of the affiliate selection process, rather than a legal detail buried somewhere in the operator’s footer. For affiliate marketing online gambling, this also changes the approach to SEO: a high commission loses its meaning if the affiliate cannot legally work with the Finnish audience.

New marketing and advertising rules that will reshape affiliate promotion

Following the launch of the new regime on July 1, 2027, advertising will no longer be the exclusive privilege of Veikkaus: holders of the relevant Finnish licenses will be able to promote gambling products, but only within the limits of Chapter 4 of the new Gambling Act. Until June 30, 2027, the current ban on other operators remains in effect. For affiliate gambling marketing, this is a fundamental change, since even a review containing a paid affiliate link can currently be classified as marketing. After the gambling reform, affiliates will have to consider not only SEO and commissions, but also the license of the advertised brand, the format of commercial communication, and the protection of minors and vulnerable groups. The operator itself must describe the channels, methods, and principles of its future marketing efforts during the licensing process.

SEO and content strategy under the new regulation instead of the old affiliate model

The transition to a licensed gambling system changes the very principle of how commercial websites are structured. SEO rankings will remain valuable, but an operator in the top 3 will not necessarily be a suitable partner.

Before adding a brand to a review, it’s worth checking:

• the Finnish license;
• the products it covers;
• the effective date of the license;
• the validity of bonus terms;
• the permissibility of specific advertisements;
• the site’s suitability for the target audience.

It’s also more practical to divide content into several levels:

• informative betting guides;
• reviews of licensed operators;
• comparison pages;
• materials on responsible gambling.

For queries related to online gambling Finland, this structure allows you to separate informational searches from commercial ones. And Finnish gambling regulations must be taken into account as early as the content planning stage, rather than after an article has already generated traffic.

How affiliates should prepare before 2027 without rebuilding everything at launch

Waiting until July 2027 to revamp hundreds of URLs in a single week is an inconvenient scenario. Preparations for affiliate marketing in light of Finland’s gambling reform can be broken down into several independent tasks right now.

Start by conducting an audit of:

1. old operator reviews;
2. bonus pages;
3. CTAs;
4. gambling-related metadata;
5. pages with Finnish traffic.

Then prepare the technical aspects:

• a disclosure template;
• fields for license numbers;
• a quick way to replace offers;
• a log of terms and conditions updates;
• separate compliance checks.

After July 1, 2027, a legal provider can be identified, in particular, by its license number and regulatory authority details. This makes the quality of the operator database an integral part of the SEO process. The new gambling system will reward not just high traffic volume, but the ability to quickly distinguish current, licensed offers from those that should no longer appear in commercial content.

FAQ – Finland’s 2027 Gambling Reform and What Affiliates Need to Know

When will Finland’s new gambling licensing system take effect?

The new licensed market is scheduled to begin on July 1, 2027. Until June 30, 2027, the current gambling regime remains in force in mainland Finland.

When can operators apply for a Finnish gambling license?

License applications can be submitted from March 1, 2026. However, applying for or receiving a license does not allow an operator to begin licensed gambling operations before the new regime takes effect.

Can licensed operators start advertising in Finland before July 1, 2027?

No. The transition period should not be confused with the launch of the licensed market. The existing restrictions continue to apply until the end of June 2027.

Will affiliate marketing be allowed under Finland’s new licensing model?

Affiliate opportunities may become available once the licensed market launches, but affiliates will need to comply with the new marketing requirements and work only with operators and products that can legally be promoted.

Is affiliate marketing currently allowed for foreign gambling operators in Finland?

Under the current regime, compensated referrals to gambling operators are treated as gambling marketing. Promoting operators other than Veikkaus in mainland Finland therefore remains restricted until the new system takes effect.

What should affiliates check before promoting an operator in 2027?

Affiliates should verify the operator’s Finnish license, its effective date, the products covered by it, applicable marketing rules, commercial-content labeling, current offer terms, and whether the selected traffic method is permitted.

Will having a Finnish gambling license automatically make an operator suitable for affiliates?

No. A valid license will be an essential compliance requirement, but affiliates should still evaluate conversion rates, payment terms, product quality, reputation, and the suitability of individual offers.

What marketing restrictions should affiliates expect after the reform?

The new licensing system will still impose advertising restrictions. Marketing should be accurate, transparent, compliant with licensing conditions, and consistent with rules intended to reduce gambling-related harm.

What should affiliates check in their gambling content?

Commercial intent should be clear, claims should not be misleading, odds and conditions should be accurate, and bonuses or promotional offers should be current and applicable to Finnish users.