Finland’s outgoing state monopoly operator Veikkaus Group has returned to growth in H1 as it prepares to cough up around €1bn ($1.09bn) over a 10-year period for an exclusive licence ahead of the 2027 licence-based market launch.
Licensed gambling operations in the new Finland market will begin on 1 July, 2027. While Veikkaus — which has been fully in support of the launch — will lose its exclusive rights over betting and online casino games, it will retain exclusivity over lottery and slot machine games, scratch cards, and physical table games.
This will cost the operator a market-based compensation fee of approximately €1bn ($1.09bn), which will be paid over the duration of the decade-long exclusive licence. A significant part of the amount is expected to be due for payment on a front-loaded basis by the end of this year.
Strong H1 tailwinds mark return-to-growth
Veikkaus saw YoY improvement in its financial performance, with both sales and net profit going up.
Actual revenue for the six months ended 30 June increased from €466.4m ($508.4m) to €471.3m ($513.7m). Meanwhile, net profit rose from €229.6m ($250.3m) to €234.2m ($255.0m), representing a 2% year-on-year increase.
The growth was primarily driven by Veikkaus’ digital channels. The company reported that 64.5% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) came from digital channels, up 3.6% year-on-year, while 35.5% was generated through physical points of sale. The total number of registered accounts reached 2,672,000.
GGR from lottery and land-based gaming stood at €317.9m ($346.5m), compared with €317.5m ($346.1m) in H1 2025. Meanwhile, digital GGR in the lottery segment increased by 9.1% year-on-year.
Similarly, GGR from betting and iCasino increased to €151.6m ($165.2m), up from €146.5m ($159.7m) a year earlier. Digital-only GGR increased by 5% year-on-year.
B2B business sees rapid expansion
Fennica Gaming, the international B2B subsidiary of Veikkaus Group specialising in lottery and gaming, recorded significant growth during the first six months of 2026.
The company’s revenue increased by 80.6% year-on-year to €10.3m ($11.2m), compared with €5.7m ($6.2m) in H1 2025.
This growth was accompanied by major strategic activations in Canada, providing early opportunities at a time when provinces slowly begin to consider iGaming regulations, and Italy — one of Europe’s largest lottery markets.
Market expansions have also led to Fennica strengthening its presence across Germany, Mexico, the Czech Republic, and Iceland.
The company now delivers games across three continents and 21 markets — in line with Veikkaus’ ambition to become a competitive international gambling company by the end of 2030.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our Telegram channel!
