The gaming and gambling industry has been expanding more than ever. With the help of the Internet and advanced technologies, a recreation which has initially been dependent on physical gaming halls is now dominating the digital space.

In recent years, it has become a growing and dynamic industry that is even playing a crucial role in certain economies. Currently, it is estimated that the global revenue of the industry is at $105 billion and is set to continue to expand to $700 billion by 2030. While it is common for researchers to often study and focus on US and Canadian markets, it is interesting to learn about the EU (European Union) landscape.

Considering that their landscape is the least studied, it is high time to look into it most especially Finland and the gambling reform it has made. Below, let us explore Finland’s gambling reforms and along with it, let us also look into how Finland aligns its gaming economy with the broader trends in the European Union.

Diving into the big reform

The landscape of online gambling in Finland has undergone a significant transformation over the past few years, driven by changing regulations, preference, and the rise of technology.

For a long time, Finland was known as having one of the remaining gambling monopolies in the European Union. Finland with its Veikkaus had an aim of directing its profits to public causes. While it has good intentions, it actually made their gambling landscape stagnant and limited opportunities for gamers for diverse gaming options.

Fortunately, and in recent years, developments have been made and its state-owned monopoly is now coming to an end. Finland is now transitioning into a licensing system for gambling with the primary objectives of providing diverse gaming options while offering safer gaming environments. Aside from that, it has also allowed gaming operators and developers to get creative and introduce innovative types of casinos that are often featured in gaming review platforms such as Pikakasinot.com that are often reviewed extensively. In such types of gaming review sites, online casinos are often compared from each other from the deposit amounts required to the bonuses they offer.

Accordingly, this shift into the licensing system finally allowed international operators to offer variety and a better gaming experience for Finnish gamers. While the shift into the licensing system offered a lot of benefits to Finland along with increased revenue, a problem arose as Finnish gaming operators struggled to compete with the international operators.

Aligning and getting into the EU trend

Seeing how advanced some of the gaming operators are from other countries, Finland has started to study international gaming frameworks and mirrored the broader trends across the European Union.

Of course, it became a challenge for the Finnish gaming operators and developers as they were initially struggling to keep up with others that were more ahead of the game. It took a lot of studying of the entirety of the European Union (EU)’s gambling landscape to adopt a diverse regulatory framework.

From there, Finland focused on the following:

1. Digital Transformation

With digital technologies constantly evolving, EU nations have been united in fully utilzing it to their advantage.

Accordingly, most gaming operators and developers across Europe have been pumping out a variety of new casino game variants as well as improving their platforms. In doing so, they have started to accommodate preference of gamers towards digital versions of games. For some operators, they have adopted blockchain technologies and even AI (Artificial Intelligence).

Now, EU nations are hosting virtual environments of better gaming experiences that cater to a diverse range of players and preferences. This shift not only enhances the gaming industry but also fosters community engagement across borders.

2. Harmonisation of Regulations

Aside from focusing on improving their platforms and making them delightful digital playgrounds with a plethora of casino gaming choices, Finland has also locked into studying the diverse regulations of countries adopt when it comes to gambling.

Many EU countries are now freely liberalising their gambling markets which favor healthy competition and catering to gamer preferences. This reform represents a significant cultural and policy shift and Finland aims to adopt it. Accordingly, Finland is positioning itself to be a leader in gambling that can balance tradition with the demands of modern digital gaming.

As the reform unfolds, it is expected that Finland will welcome more international operators but will have already adopted a regulatory framework that allows both local and international operators to be on the same footing while protecting the gamers.