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Finnish Gambler Preferences and Behavior (Data-Driven Insights)
Understanding what Finnish players like to play – and how, and where – is crucial for both policy and operators planning entry. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s extensive surveys (conducted every 4 years) shed light on the patterns that the new licensing regime will confront. Here, we present key findings from the 2023 Gambling Population Study and other data, accompanied by charts and tables for clarity.
Overall Participation Decline: Gambling participation has been trending downward in Finland. As noted, the share of adults (15–74) who gambled in the past year dropped from 78% in 2019 to 70% in 2023.
While fewer people gamble now, those who do might be concentrating their activity (the total spending hasn’t dropped commensurately with participation, indicating intensity among remaining players stayed similar). Additionally, the risk profile has not improved as hoped – the reduction in casual gamblers hasn’t yet translated to fewer problem gamblers proportionally.
Lotteries clearly dominate – over half the population plays Lotto or related draw games annually. This is a stable cornerstone: lottery play has high participation but low frequency (many play occasionally when jackpot is big). Scratch cards also enjoy broad appeal across demographics for their simplicity. In contrast, only about one in six Finns plays the slot machines that are in shops, reflecting that these tend to have a devoted user base that plays often (and incurring a large share of losses) rather than mass appeal.
Sports betting and horse betting combined reach around 15% of people. This might be lower than some might expect given Finns’ sports fervor, but it suggests the Veikkaus sports betting offerings (which were somewhat limited in odds competitiveness and variety) did not entice a huge portion of the public. This is exactly where new operators might expand the market by offering more variety (in-play betting, more leagues, better odds), possibly increasing that participation post-2027.
Poker and other niche games are small; Finland had a poker boom in the 2000s (with international successes like Patrik Antonius), but poker is now a minor activity.
Online vs Offline Play: A very important trend is the migration to online:
- In 2007, only 11% of Finns had gambled online. By 2015, it was 29%. By 2019, 36%. And in 2023, 44% gambled online.
- Meanwhile, land-based play (e.g. physical slot machines, retail lotto) dropped. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this shift: Veikkaus saw increased online registrations when casinos and slot halls were closed.
- Veikkaus’s own split: roughly 45% of its revenue in 2022 came from the digital channel. We can expect that to exceed 50% by 2027, meaning the majority of Finnish gambling spend will be online.
The implication is that the new licensing mainly addresses where the growth and action already is – online. Land-based venues (except those physical slots) are marginal aside from the flagship casinos.
Offshore Gambling Patterns: Approximately 7% of the population gambled on non-monopoly platforms (i.e., Paf or foreign sites) in 2023. This overall percentage hasn’t grown recently, but the composition might have: Paf’s share increased slightly, meaning perhaps foreign dot.com sites stayed around 4–5% of people. It’s useful to know who these offshore gamblers are. THL’s survey reveals:
- They skew heavily male – 12% of men vs only a few percent of women used offshore sites.
- They are younger – 15% of 18–29 year-olds gambled offshore, compared to virtually 0% of over-65s. There was even an uptick in the 45–59 age group since 2019 (from a low base), but the core remains young males.
- They favor fast online games and sports: likely online slots, live casino, sports betting on international leagues, eSports, etc.
Understanding this, new licensees will target particularly these demographics – offering the products and experiences that drew them offshore, but now under Finnish regulation.
Channelization Baseline: Channelization rate is often defined as the share of total gambling revenue spent on regulated (legal) offerings. Finland’s channelization for online was estimated around 80–85% prior to reform (Veikkaus and Paf capturing that, with 15–20% going to foreign sites). For land-based, it was near 100% (since illegal physical gambling is negligible). The overall gambling channelization might have been ~90%. The government aims to drive online channelization closer to, say, 95%. Achieving that means converting many of those 250k offshore users to local sites and hopefully preventing new players from going unregulated.
Money Flows and Expenditure Patterns: Finnish gamblers on average did not increase their spend 2019–2023 even as fewer people played. THL data show that mean spending among gamblers stayed flat; this implies the total market GGR was either stable or slightly down. Indeed, Veikkaus’s annual GGR dropped from ~€1.7bn in 2019 to ~€1.1bn in 2022 (partly due to COVID and machine removals), and some of that reduction may have gone to offshore or just reflect less gambling overall. The new licensing might recapture some lost spend (through offering new products like live betting that re-engage lapsed bettors) or it might cannibalize Veikkaus’s existing revenue if not many new players come in.
One interesting stat: In 2023, 2.2% of gamblers accounted for 50% of the total gambling expenditure in Finland. This highlights the skew – a small minority of heavy players generate the bulk of losses (and likely, the bulk of problem gamblers reside in that group). This is common in gambling markets but underscores why Finland is being careful: if competition leads to companies chasing those high rollers aggressively, it could worsen outcomes for that vulnerable 2.2%. On the other hand, with central self-exclusion and enforced limits, the system aims to moderate the risks for those individuals.
Regional Differences: Gambling participation used to be higher in rural areas and among Swedish-speaking Finns (historically due to betting on trotting in rural communities and Paf usage in the Swedish Åland community). The reform is national in scope, but one quirk: Åland’s Paf is local to Åland and also runs all gambling there. Åland residents (about 30k people) will likely remain playing on Paf as usual – they are not the main target of new licenses, since those will cover mainland. Mainland Finnish players who played on Paf can either keep playing on Paf (if Paf obtains a license) or try new sites.
Attitudinal Trends: Between 2019 and 2023, Finnish public attitudes turned more critical of gambling in some respects. The majority (61%) in 2023 felt there are “too many opportunities to gamble” in Finland, a response to the prevalence of slot machines historically. Also 90% said gambling should not be encouraged. These attitudes likely pressured Veikkaus to cut down visible gambling and the government to ensure the new competitive market doesn’t mean a flood of new gambling outlets on every corner. Notably, in the new law Finland kept physical slot machines in the monopoly precisely to allow continued reduction and control of those without new companies placing machines.
Yet, a slight majority (58%) also agreed people have the right to gamble whenever they want – indicating support for personal freedom as well. And about 20% think gambling overall benefits society (likely in reference to the revenue for good causes).
From those somewhat conflicting views, one can infer Finns are okay with gambling existing but want it contained and tempered. The challenge for new operators will be to gain acceptance by demonstrating they are operating responsibly and contributing positively (through tax and perhaps sponsorship of sports or charities, albeit carefully). They must avoid high-profile missteps (like ads that clearly target youth or a spike in problem gambling cases tied to their brand) that would turn public sentiment further against gambling expansion.
In Appendix C, we include additional tables from THL’s 2023 study, such as the breakdown of gambling participation by age and gender, and the long-term trend of online vs offline play. These provide deeper insight (for example, the sharp decline in under-18 gambling after strict ID checks, or the increase in exclusive online play vs mixed online/offline play).
To summarize the key gambler preferences relevant to 2027:
- Finns love lotteries – that stays with Veikkaus (no change).
- Finns enjoy convenience and anonymity of quick games (scratch cards, slots) – but those will be highly regulated and not heavily expanded in availability despite more online slots.
- The growth opportunity and competition battleground will be in online sports betting and casino, particularly for men under 50. Currently their needs were partially unmet; soon they will have many legal options.
- There is a substantial group of heavy gamblers who use multiple products and contributed most revenue – how they shift their play (stay with Veikkaus out of habit, or try new platforms for better offers) will significantly impact market shares and channelization.
- Responsible Gambling tools will be ubiquitous, so Finnish players will experience more intervention and friction (e.g., setting limits, seeing regular reminders) on any licensed site than they might have on offshore sites. The hope is they accept this as the new normal and do not find it a reason to return to unregulated operators that might still offer unbridled play.
This data-centric understanding will inform the scenarios and industry strategies discussed later in the primer.
