Veikkaus deputy CEO Velipekka Nummikoski to depart on August 31 as Chris Armes joins as EVP of Gaming Technologies

Finland’s state-owned gambling operator is reshuffling its top team ahead of the opening of the Finnish online gambling market from July 2027. For PSPs and other high-risk payment providers, the obvious read is that Veikkaus is getting its digital stack and market-facing functions ready for a much less cosy environment.

1. Velipekka Nummikoski will leave Veikkaus on August 31 after 14 years with the company. He first led the Finnish slot machine operator RAY in 2012, oversaw the launch of its online casino platform, and in 2017 joined the executive team that merged RAY and Fintoto into Veikkaus.
2. After the merger, Nummikoski became Deputy CEO, with responsibility for public affairs, responsible gambling and communications alongside CEO Olli Sarekoski. Veikkaus said his departure comes as Finland prepares to open its online gambling market from July 2027.
3. Veikkaus has appointed Chris Armes as executive vice president of Gaming Technologies and a member of the executive team, with the role due to start in autumn 2026. He joins from High5Games, where he oversaw technology and operations across B2B and B2C markets.
4. Armes has also held senior roles at Gaming Innovation Group and Scientific Games Digital, where he led integration efforts after the acquisition of NYX Gaming Group. Sarekoski said Armes’ experience in iGaming technology and tightly regulated markets, plus his focus on responsible gaming and security, were key reasons for the hire.
5. Alongside Armes’ appointment, long-serving senior manager Ari Aarnihuhta will move into an executive adviser role. Veikkaus said it is prioritising modernisation of its digital platforms and international expansion as Finland dismantles the operator’s monopoly; by June, 50 companies had already applied for new Finnish online gambling licences, most of them international.

Veikkaus will keep its monopoly over lotteries, scratchcards and parts of land-based gambling. For payment firms, that means the real opening is online: a licensed market with domestic and foreign operators, while the legacy monopoly retains enough of the footprint to keep the regulatory picture divided rather than neatly reset.