Veikkaus has applied for a licence to compete in the market it currently monopolises, and has split itself into two companies to be allowed to do so.
The state-owned operator confirmed in its first-half results that it has submitted applications covering both parts of the future system: the exclusive licence for lotteries, scratchcards, physical slot machines and land-based casino games, and a gambling licence for the competitive market that opens on 1 July 2027.
Two subsidiaries, one group
In May 2026 Veikkaus established two subsidiaries, one for exclusive operations and one for the licence-based competitive market. The separation is required to satisfy EU rules on competitive neutrality: a company holding a state-granted monopoly cannot use it to subsidise a business competing on an open market.
The practical consequence for incoming operators is that the entity they will compete against from July 2027 is legally distinct from the lottery business. It cannot be cross-subsidised, and it has to build a competitive cost base of its own.
The monopoly now has a price
Veikkaus has committed to paying market-based compensation for its remaining exclusive rights, estimated at around €1 billion over the ten-year exclusive licence period, with much of it front-loaded into 2026.
That number reframes the reform. The state is not simply giving up revenue by opening the market; it is charging its own company for what remains closed. For a private operator assessing the Finnish opportunity, it also indicates how the government values the exclusive verticals it is not opening.
Restructuring for a fight
The company reported first-half sales of €471.3 million, up 1%, with operating profit of €227.7 million and profit for the period of €234.2 million. Alongside those figures it announced a further reorganisation: 15 roles terminated and 17 created across the Data and AI department, two business units and finance, with capability moving toward data analysis, customer insight, product management, technology, regulation and commercial operations.
Those are the functions an operator needs in a competitive market rather than a monopoly. Veikkaus has also joined the Finnish Gambling Association, the industry body that spent years arguing for the end of its monopoly.
The subsidiary that already competes
Fennica Gaming, the group's international B2B arm, grew first-half revenue 80.6% to €10.3 million and now operates in 21 markets across three continents. It is the part of Veikkaus with actual experience of competing, and the group's most transferable asset as the domestic market opens.
And the question behind all of it
Industry consultant Jari Vähänen, a former senior Veikkaus executive, has estimated the business could be worth up to €4.5 billion after liberalisation and has said several private firms have expressed interest in acquiring parts of it. That has reopened political debate about a partial or full sale, with no decision taken.
An incumbent that has split itself in two, priced its own monopoly, restructured toward commercial functions and joined the association that campaigned against it is not behaving like a company planning to be sold intact. It is behaving like one preparing to compete.
