BetCity's former owners secure Finnish licence for SuomiVeto

SuomiVeto, a Finnish gambling company founded by former BetCity shareholders Joey Singels and Melvin Bostelaar, has received a licence to offer online gambling in Finland once the market opens, Bostelaar said in a post on LinkedIn. Bostelaar, who became CEO of SuomiVeto on Thursday, said the company is among the first operators to receive a licence for the Finnish market.

Finland's online gambling market is due to open on 1 July 2027. Until then, online gambling has been available only through state-owned Veikkaus, which held a monopoly licence. SuomiVeto said it is preparing for the launch on that date.

Bragg will supply the casino product and Kambi the sportsbook for the SuomiVeto website, the same suppliers BetCity used in the Netherlands. The report said the Dutch shareholders appear to be following the same strategy in Finland as in the Netherlands, including the use of former sports figures as ambassadors.

Bostelaar was previously the CEO who led BetCity's online casino in the Dutch market and stepped down in July 2023 because of health problems. He was succeeded by Vic Walia after BetCity had been sold to the British gambling company Entain.

In the LinkedIn post, Bostelaar said: "Wij behoren tot de eerste exploitanten die een vergunning voor de Finse markt hebben gekregen, en ik ben ontzettend trots op iedereen die ons heeft geholpen om dit te bereiken." He said the company has two Finnish sports figures as ambassadors, platform partners and a media plan.