Link Building for Finland's Newly Licensed iGaming Operators

What actually changed in Finland's gambling market?

Finland's Gambling Act reform ends the decades-long monopoly held by state operator Veikkaus over digital betting and online casino games. Veikkaus keeps its monopoly on lottery-type games, scratch cards and physical slot machines and casino games, but online betting, online slots and casino games, and online money bingo open to competing operators under a licensing system for the first time.

The application window for private B2C licences opened on 1 March 2026, with dozens of operators already in the queue. The Finnish government's own reform announcement frames it as introducing licensing to bring genuine competition to betting and online casino games, rather than a full liberalisation — Veikkaus stays the dominant domestic brand even as the market opens.

Who regulates Finland's new licensed operators?

Finland is running a deliberate two-stage regulatory handover. Until the end of June 2027, the National Police Board (Poliisihallitus) issues and supervises the first wave of licences. From 1 July 2027 — the same date the market formally opens — a newly created Permit and Supervision Agency takes over ongoing licensing and enforcement.

The law defines three licence categories, each with its own compliance track:

• B2C operators — betting, online slots/casino, online money bingo
• B2B platform providers — the technical infrastructure operators run on
• Game developers — studios supplying content into the licensed market
• Flat tax rate: 22% of gross gaming revenue
• First licences expected by end of 2026; market opens 1 July 2027

Why does Finland's affiliate marketing ban change the SEO calculation?

This is the detail that separates Finland from every other market on our regulatory tracker. Under the new advertising rules, operators may promote their brand but not individual games or products, direct marketing is opt-in only, telemarketing is banned outright, and — critically — influencer marketing and affiliate marketing arrangements are both prohibited. Bonuses are restricted to existing customers under standardised terms with a maximum 5x wagering requirement; there's no public welcome offer to advertise even if an operator wanted to.

That closes off the acquisition channels most operators lean on hardest at launch. What's left standing is brand search, organic discovery and durable editorial coverage — none of which the law restricts. In practice, this makes organic link building less of a growth lever and more of the primary channel a Finnish-licensed brand has to compete for visibility at all, since it can't buy its way into rankings through the affiliate and influencer routes that work in less restricted markets.

What link building actually works for a Finnish licence holder?

With pay-per-lead affiliate placements off the table, the links that move the needle are the ones that would pass scrutiny even without a gambling-specific ad rule attached to them: genuine editorial coverage in Finnish and Nordic press, guest posts on topically relevant industry and lifestyle publications that cover the brand as news rather than a paid placement, and niche edits on pages that already rank for brand-adjacent terms. The line to watch is the one between coverage and compensation — a link that reads as sponsored player acquisition is exactly what the affiliate ban targets, while a link that reads as commentary or reporting on a newly licensed operator is not.

This is also a market where the compliance-aware approach we recommend everywhere else stops being optional and becomes the whole strategy. An operator that treats Finland like a normal launch and leans on affiliate-style placements risks the same enforcement exposure the advertising rules were built to create.

What should agencies do before the market opens in July 2027?

The runway between now and 1 July 2027 is the window to build. Domain authority, indexed content and a real backlink profile don't appear overnight, and a brand that waits until its licence is confirmed to start building organic visibility is starting from zero against competitors who used the licensing window productively. Agencies advising Finnish-market clients should prioritise Finnish- and Nordic-language content, verify every placement against the no-affiliate rule before it goes live, and treat vendor vetting as essential — a vendor who doesn't understand the affiliate ban can put a freshly licensed brand into enforcement territory on day one.