Hippos ATG says it secures five-year Finnish gambling licence ahead of 2027 launch

Hippos ATG said it has been granted a Finnish gambling licence for a five-year period, according to an image of the licence the company shared on social media. The company is the second to announce a successful Finnish licence application. Finland's National Police Board, which oversees the application process, has not officially confirmed the outcome of any licence applications, and iGaming Business said it had requested comment.

Hippos ATG is a joint venture uniting Sweden's state horse racing operator ATG with Suomen Hippos, the racing association in Finland. ATG (AB Trav och Galopp) runs Sweden's horse racing monopoly, and the pair unveiled their partnership in 2025. The venture subsequently said it would take the ATG name for the 2027 launch given the brand's recognition, and it told iGaming Business it would draw on ATG's own gaming platform.

As part of a major regulatory overhaul, Finland will allow private companies to offer online gambling from 1 July 2027, ending the state-owned monopoly system that came before. Roughly 80 businesses have so far sought licences to operate in the Finnish market.

Hippos ATG CEO Mikael Bäcke said in a public statement that the venture had from the outset created a fresh Finnish company and operating models designed around the new legislation's demands. He added that the team had never doubted it would satisfy the licensing conditions, that securing approval is the key condition for market entry, and that attention can now turn to the products and to completing the operational entity.

Wildz Group, based in Malta, was the earliest company to report receiving a Finnish licence, doing so on 15 October. Given Finland's small population, some market experts have raised oversaturation worries, though the country's sizeable grey market is expected to be tackled through channelisation. Speaking at SBC Lisbon in September, Hippos ATG chief compliance officer Antti Koivula forecast an uneven playing field at launch, noting that incumbent monopoly Veikkaus and offshore-licensed operators already active there hold customer databases that could give them an advantage over newcomers beginning with nothing.