Veikkaus and Blueprint Gaming Partner Ahead of Finland Gambling Reforms

Finland’s state run gambling company, Veikkaus, formed a partnership with UK studio Blueprint Gaming. It is really a win-win for both parties, as Blueprint Gaming is extending its availability to another European country, and for Veikkaus, it will mean access to a plethora of blockbuster gaming titles. Blueprint Gaming, a subsidiary of the German company Merkur Gaming, is steadily increasing its foothold in Europe. The more interesting spin here is what this will mean for Veikkaus.

The Finnish government run betting agency has made a few partnerships in the last 1.5 years. It has also linked up with Playtech and Hacksaw Gaming, and Veikkaus also acquired the naming rights for Helsinki Arena. It is, and not so quietly, preparing for the eventual multi-license market that will launch from 2027, and end the (by that point) 10-year gambling monopoly Veikkaus Oy has on the country.

Veikkaus Partnership with Blueprint Gaming

Blueprint Gaming Ltd will now expand into Finland, broadening its European reach, which includes the UK, Germany and Sweden. While Finland is not a massive market, it is a competitive step forward for Blueprint Gaming, who are slowly but surely dipping into new markets. The UK based studio creates both landbased gaming cabinets and online games. Of the latter, we aren’t just talking about video slots, but also crash games, and even jackpot titles. You may know Blueprint Gaming best for its branded slots, including the likes of:

• Ricky and Morty: Strikeback
• The Flintstones
• Ted
• Deal or No Deal Megaways
• The Goonies Megaways

Or, if not, then perhaps through its ever popular slots series and progressive jackpot games like

• King Kong
• Fishin’ Frenzy
• Jackpot King
• Rapid Fire Jackpot

Needless to say, exposure to more markets and having more licenses will not only give Blueprint greater visibility but also credibility in the broader global iGaming industry. The Finland online casino scene, which has been in steady decline, may just get the injection of fresh ideas through Veikkaus’ latest partnership. But that is not all Veikkaus has done.

Other Recent Veikkaus Alliances

Veikkaus has been busy in recent months, having also announced a partnership with Hacksaw Gaming, a well known developer studio, back in May. Hacksaw Gaming, which holds vendor licenses in Malta, the Netherlands, the Isle of Man, and with the UKGC, is a highly innovative gaming studio. In addition to its slots, scratchcards and instant win titles, Hacksaw also supports crypto gaming, with many of its leading games supporting Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies.

Before that, at the end of 2024, Veikkaus joined forces with Playtech, specifically to gain its live dealer casino games. The Playtech Live games comprise a large variety of titles. From classic games of roulette and blackjack to gameshow style titles like Adventures Beyond Wonderland and The Greatest Cards Show, Playtech Live brings an excess of games to Finland. And these live games will be hosted with Finnish-speaking dealers – giving the domestic market more variety and diversity in their gaming experiences.

Veikkaus Preparing for De-Monopolisation

We already have an end date for Finland’s gambling monopoly, set for 2027, and all of these partnerships are most definitely made in preparation for it. In September 2022, Veikkaus OY CEO Olli Sarekosi announced that Veikkaus would give up its monopoly. It was made as a result of the weakening hold that Veikkaus had on Finnish gamers, as over 60% of the market had moved to unregulated gambling sites. The idea was to adopt a similar model to neighboring countries Sweden and Denmark, which officially ended their monopolies in 2019 and 2012, respectively.

Sweden had held a monopoly on gambling since 1943, under the company Tipstjänst, which was rebranded Svenska Spel in 1997 and held the monopoly until major gambling reforms in 2019. Denmark opened its doors to a liberal online gambling market way back in 2012, and it is regulated by the Spillemyndigheden, which can issue online sports betting and online casino licenses.

Veikkaus Expansions and Goals

So Veikkaus is preparing for the inevitable. The gambling market will open in 2027, and B2B gambling licenses will be up for grabs in 2026 as the Finnish iGaming sector prepares for the grand launch. Veikkaus has been snapping up software providers, and even acquired the naming rights to the Helsinki Arena, in what could be seen as a means to give itself a head start in what could be a highly competitive market. But that is not all Veikkaus has been doing.

No, the company has also looked to extend its services abroad. Veikkaus’ international business subsidiary, Fennica Gaming has taken games production to new heights since taking over the role from Veikkaus’ own studios. It has also obtained B2B gaming vendors licenses in Ontario, Greece, and a relatively new market, the UAE. Thus, Veikkaus is looking to cement its status not only in the domestic market, but also reach to players abroad and establish itself as an international gaming brand.

Sweden Accuses Veikkaus of Anti-Competitive Tactics

These moves have not gone unnoticed by industry insiders. Swedish stakeholders, such as ATG (the horse racing and betting operator), have publicly accused Veikkaus of abusing its monopoly position to create a headstart for itself. By partnering with key game vendors and helping them gain a foothold in Finland, they are also building their dominance in a market that has not yet opened.

The northern neighbors and potential future operators worry that Veikkaus will bend procurement rules and use commercial partnerships to manipulate the sector to their advantage, and that it will be hard to undo when the market does open. Supplier relationships, timing, and brand visibility will be difficult to obtain from scratch when going up a powerhouse – especially one that will have had a monopoly on the market for 10 years (2017-2027).

Last State Monopolies on Gambling in the EU

Europe has mostly moved to licensed models, and gambling monopolies are slowly fading away. After Finland reforms its laws and launches a liberalised market, the last big players with state monopolies on gambling in Europe are Norway and Austria. Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto continue to hold exclusive rights across many gambling products, and the framework is tight. Austria’s online casino market remains tightly in the hands of the single legal operator in the country, Casino Austria AG. Iceland still holds a monopoly, as does Luxembourg. But most countries either have liberal markets, or semi-liberal hybrid models.

Some of the more recent major reforms include:

• 2019 – Slovakia creates a licensing regime
• 2021 – The Netherlands opens its market
• 2021 – Germany introduces the New Interstate Treaty
• 2023 – Hungary ends monopoly

Bottom Line for Finnish Gamers

Regardless of whether it is going to be fair competition or not, one thing that Finnish gamers can take out of these moves is that when the market does open, the bar will be set high. Veikkaus is trying to build the strongest and most versatile portfolio of games as it can before anyone else sets foot in Finland. Looking at Denmark’s online casinos and the Swedish online casinos, and there are plenty of reputable operators who could potentially take an interest in Finland. In 2024, Sweden reported a GGR estimate of 27.85 billion SEK (~$2.56 billion), whereas Denmark had about 11 billion DKK (~$1.59 billion).

Finland’s Veikkaus reported approximately €956.2 million (~$1.02 billion) in 2024, a 7.3% decrease from the year before. Actually, Veikkaus has been in a steady decline for years, with the stakeholders citing players turning to the gray market instead. With a similar population to Denmark (5.6 million to Denmark’s 5.9 million), and a similar gambling model, those numbers may increase when the liberalised market is launched. With more options and bigger players coming in to compete with Veikkaus, Finland may win back its gamers.

The end of the monopoly is not just symbolic; it has real ambitions and plans going forward for the country. And to gain the trust and loyalty of Finnish gamers. On a broader scale, it marks the end of another state-run monopoly, bringing a slow close to one of the last chapters of Europe’s state-run gaming era.