Regulatory Trends 2026: H1 review of Finland, Ireland, and EU gambling rules

This retrospective covers changes that became legally effective or reached a formal milestone between 1 January and 30 June 2026. For high-risk PSPs, the useful part is not the policy theatre; it is the calendar, the tax take, and where regulators have started paying closer attention to payments, financial controls, advertising, and player protection.

1. Across the European Union, one important backdrop is the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, which will apply from 10 July 2027 and replace much of the current directive-based framework with directly applicable EU rules. In practice, H1 2026 was a preparation period for operators targeting Europe before the new requirements start biting.
2. Finland made the most concrete move away from its gambling monopoly. The National Police Board of Finland began accepting licence applications on 1 March 2026, with a processing fee of €29,000 for a 2026 gambling licence application. Licensed operations are set to begin on 1 July 2027, when private companies will be allowed to offer betting, online casino games, slots, and electronic money bingo.
3. Veikkaus, the Finnish state gambling operator, will keep exclusivity over lottery-style games, scratch cards, physical slot machines, and land-based casino games. On the same date, licensing and supervision will move from the National Police Board to the Finnish Supervisory Agency.
4. Finland’s licensed market will carry a tax rate of 22% of gambling margin. The framework also requires player identification, daily and monthly limits on transfers to player accounts, and a centralized self-exclusion system covering all licence holders. For PSPs, that combination points to heavier KYC (know your customer), tighter transaction controls, and a payment stack that has to talk cleanly to the regulatory side.
5. The main operational takeaway is timing. H1 2026 marked the start of the real transition, which means operators planning to enter at launch need to start licence, compliance, and technology work well before July 2027.

Ireland is also moving from reform on paper to an active process, but the source text cuts off before the operational details. What matters for market participants is the same pattern seen elsewhere in Europe: once a licensing framework starts moving, payments, controls, and reporting requirements usually follow close behind.