Veikkaus posts first-half growth as Finland heads toward a 1 July 2027 licensing market

Veikkaus went back to growth in the first half of 2026, posting higher revenue and profit while digital channels took a bigger share of activity. That matters because Finland’s gambling market is set to move from monopoly to a regulated competitive model on 1 July 2027, and the payment flows around betting and online casino are about to change with it.

1. Veikkaus Group reported actual sales revenue of €471.3 million for January to June 2026, up from €466.4 million in the same period of 2025. Operating profit rose to €227.7 million from €220.6 million, while profit for the financial period increased to €234.2 million from €229.6 million.
2. The company said the improvement was supported by investment in digital business and technical capabilities, as customer behaviour continued to move toward online services. For PSPs and acquirers, that is the part to watch: the commercial center of gravity is already shifting before the legal structure changes.
3. Digital channels accounted for 64.5% of Veikkaus’ gross gaming revenue in the first half of 2026, with physical points of sale making up the remaining 35.5%. Veikkaus said the digital share increased by 3.6 percentage points year on year, which tells you where the transaction volume is heading.
4. Within the Lottery and Land Based Gaming business, digital gross gaming revenue increased by 9.1% year on year. Betting and iCasino activity also expanded, with gross gaming revenue rising to €151.6 million from €146.5 million in the first half of 2025, and digital-only gross gaming revenue in that business grew by 5%.
5. Finland is scheduled to introduce a licence-based gambling framework on 1 July 2027. Under the new system, betting and selected online gambling activities will move from the current monopoly structure to a regulated competitive market, while Veikkaus will keep exclusive rights over several lottery and land-based products.

For high-risk payment providers, the practical takeaway is simple: Finland is not just talking about opening the market, it is already showing the revenue mix that will matter once licensed competition starts. The categories being liberalised are the ones with the clearest online payment dependency, which is usually where onboarding, fraud controls, and acquiring strategy get tested first.