Hippos ATG says it receives five-year Finnish igaming licence

Licence term

5

Licence application processing fee

€29,000

Licence applications received by 22 September

75

Population of Finland

5.6m

Hippos ATG, the joint venture of Sweden's ATG and Finnish horse racing body Suomen Hippos, said it has received a gambling licence ahead of Finland's regulated online gambling market launch, according to an approval the company shared on social media. The licence is valid for five years. The company is the second operator to confirm receipt of a licence, after Malta-based Wildz Group. Finland's National Police Board has not publicly disclosed the outcome of any licence applications.

“We have always been confident that we will meet the conditions for the licence.”

Finland's regulated online gambling market is scheduled to open on 1 July 2027, with the new Finnish Gambling Act providing the framework. Under that law, state-owned Veikkaus will no longer hold exclusive rights to online gambling in the country. Applications began being accepted on 1 March. By 22 September, the National Police Board had recorded 75 licence applications, a figure described as exceeding expectations for a nation of 5.6 million. Each applicant faced a €29,000 processing fee, and the number of licences on offer was not limited.

Sweden's horse racing monopoly is run by ATG, formally known as AB Trav och Galopp. In 2025 the company revealed its tie-up with Suomen Hippos, a step aimed at gaining a foothold in Finland's liberalised market. Once that market opens in 2027, the joint venture is to operate under the ATG name, a choice the company linked to how well consumers know the brand.

Hippos ATG chief executive Mikael Bäcke said the company had built a new company in Finland and its operating models from the start to meet the requirements of the new legislation. He said the company had always been confident it would meet the licence conditions, and that a positive decision was the most important prerequisite for entering the market.

The regulator has not said whether it will make public a roster of approved operators, nor whether it has completed its assessment of the remaining applications. Among the companies that had confirmed submitting bids were Veikkaus and Hippos ATG. In abandoning a state monopoly for an open licensing regime, Finland joins a small group of late movers in Europe; Sweden made the same shift in 2019. With so many applications lodged, questions have arisen over whether the market could become overcrowded. Industry figures also continue to challenge parts of the government's new framework, with critics contending that the cooling-off period and the affiliate ban would undermine channelisation.