Finland is preparing to open its licensed gambling market on 1 July 2027. On 26 October 2026, iGaming Business reported 12 licence approvals, based on information from the National Police Board. For casino and sportsbook affiliates, the commercial question is whether those licences create a route to referral income.
Finland’s gambling affiliate marketing restrictions mean publishers cannot treat the opening as permission to launch traditional referral campaigns. Before investing in Finnish rankings or negotiating commissions, affiliates need to understand which marketing activities the new framework permits.
Key takeaways for affiliates
Launch date: licensed competitive operations can begin on 1 July 2027. An earlier approval does not bring that date forward.
Affiliate restrictions remain: an operator licence does not authorise the usual comparison-site and tracked-referral model.
Payment terms do not settle compliance: CPA, RevShare, Hybrid or a fixed fee must be assessed alongside the actual activity.
Plan around permitted channels: assess any service work separately and compare other eligible markets before committing acquisition budgets.
What Finland’s new gambling licences allow
According to iGB’s report, the National Police Board had received 79 applications, granted 12 licences and rejected none as of 26 October 2026. These are dated figures, not a final list of market participants.
The Finnish government’s reform announcement confirms that betting, online slot and casino games, and online money bingo will open to competition. Veikkaus retains monopoly activities, including lottery-type games, scratch cards and physical slot machines and casino games.
The police’s licensing information separates applications from operations: applications opened on 1 March 2026, while competitive licensed operations cannot start before 1 July 2027. The National Police Board oversees the transition, with the Finnish Supervisory Agency taking over in July 2027.
For affiliate managers, this means a licence announcement is a reason to investigate a partner’s plans. It is not enough evidence to approve a Finnish acquisition campaign.
Why traditional affiliate marketing remains restricted
Under the current regime, police guidance on affiliate websites explicitly treats compensated gambling review and listing sites as prohibited marketing. That guidance describes the existing Lotteries Act position.
From July 2027, the enacted Gambling Act, section 51, permits specified marketing channels and prohibits marketing outside its provisions. These include an operator’s own website, television and radio, certain events, and print media or corresponding electronic publications, subject to restrictions. The framework does not provide general permission for traditional affiliate referral websites.
The permission for search-engine marketing is limited. Section 51 ties it to search terms directly related to the licence holder or its games. It should not be read as authorisation for affiliates to rank comparison pages and send players through tracked links.
For publishers, the distinction is between an activity expressly permitted under the framework and a familiar referral model that remains outside that permission. Calling a website a publication does not establish that it qualifies for the electronic-publication channel.
What this means for CPA, RevShare and affiliate SEO
Affiliates often compare a fixed acquisition payment with a share of referred-player revenue. Finland requires an earlier decision: can the proposed customer-acquisition activity be carried out at all?
The government’s original legislative proposal described affiliate arrangements involving identifiable links or codes and payments tied to traffic, registrations or player losses. This is legislative background, not a substitute for the enacted rules, but it explains why the referral mechanism matters.
Changing a CPA agreement to RevShare or Hybrid leaves that mechanism in place. A monthly invoice also does not, by itself, establish that a promotional placement is permitted.
For an SEO publisher, the investment test is straightforward: separate the cost of producing Finnish content from the evidence that its intended monetisation is allowed. Search demand and rankings cannot answer the second question.
For existing relationships, ask how Finnish targeting, campaign suspension and previously referred players are handled in the contract. Do not assume that the reform automatically ends every historical commission, or that an old agreement permits new referrals.
Are there other opportunities for publishers?
Publishers may have skills that an operator needs without buying referrals from the publisher’s audience. Possible services to assess include Finnish localisation, content production for an operator’s own website, technical SEO, accessibility improvements and analytics.
These are commercial possibilities to investigate, not confirmed exemptions. The delivery channel, content, responsibilities and contract need review. Work involving gambling software can also raise licensing questions separate from ordinary website services.
Independent reporting about the reform serves a different purpose from paid player acquisition. Its treatment still depends on the actual content and commercial relationships. Removing tracking from a page does not automatically remove its promotional character.
Before accepting any Finland-related project, use three separate checks. The final check must cover the proposed activity itself.
What affiliates should check before investing in Finland
Verify the legal entity and licence. Check the operator behind the brand, the authorised products and the licence’s effective date.
Describe the complete campaign. Record the audience, pages, placements, links, codes, payment basis and destination. Review the arrangement rather than its label.
Separate current and future rules. Do not launch early because an operator has received approval. Obtain Finnish legal review for any proposed marketing arrangement.
Audit your targeting. Current police guidance makes clear that operating abroad or using another language does not remove restrictions on marketing aimed at mainland Finland.
Compare the budget with other GEOs. Prioritise markets where both the operator and your intended promotional method are eligible. Then compare commission terms and traffic economics.
Frequently asked questions
Can affiliates promote Finnish-licensed casinos from July 2027?
A Finnish operator licence does not give affiliates general permission to promote that casino through referral websites. Traditional affiliate marketing remains restricted, so publishers should not launch a comparison-site campaign solely because the operator has been licensed.
Can a comparison website use affiliate links?
The market opening does not authorise the usual model of casino rankings linked to compensated player referrals. A comparison site needs assessment under the marketing rules; describing its content as informative does not settle the position.
Does a fixed-fee agreement make a placement permissible?
A fixed fee alone does not make a placement permissible. The review must cover the channel, content and actual commercial arrangement. A genuine service contract and a paid referral placement can involve different activities, even when both use monthly invoices.
Does operating outside Finland change the current restriction?
No. Current Finnish police guidance says the restriction applies to marketing targeting mainland Finland regardless of where the marketer is based. The relevant audience and targeting matter, so an offshore company or server is not a solution.
Choose your next market around permitted traffic
Finland’s opening is worth monitoring, but a launch budget needs a permitted route to customers. For affiliates, the practical next step is to compare market eligibility, traffic sources and operator terms before forecasting commission income.
Paynura is a B2B iGaming affiliate network connecting publishers with opportunities across several verticals. Review its casino affiliate opportunities and sportsbook affiliate opportunities, then discuss your audience and target markets with an affiliate manager. Availability depends on the offer, GEO and promotional method.
Become a Paynura partner to discuss which opportunities fit your traffic and the markets you can serve.