Wildz Group Says It Is First Operator Approved for a Finnish Gambling Licence

^{Wildz Group says Finland's National Police Board has approved it to offer gambling when the licensed market opens in 2027. (Photo: JIP / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0)}

Malta-based Wildz Group says it is the first operator to be approved for a gambling licence in Finland, ahead of the country's licensed market opening on 1 July 2027. The approval has not been independently confirmed by the regulator, so the claim rests on the company's own announcement. The approval comes as Finland ends the Veikkaus monopoly on online casino and betting.

Wildz Group said it received a formal letter from the Finnish National Police Board on 15 October 2026. According to the announcement, published by European Gaming on 16 October, the letter grants permission to offer gambling services to Finnish players for five years from 1 July 2027.

The distinction matters for readers: an operator-announced approval is not the same as a published licence decision. Until the regulator lists approved operators, other companies cannot be ranked against Wildz's claim, and the licence only takes effect when the market opens.

Regulator Yet to Confirm

The National Police Board has not published any decisions on individual applications. It began accepting applications on 1 March 2026 and acts as the licensing authority until the end of June 2027, when the Finnish Supervisory Agency takes over.

Wildz Group chief executive Sam Brown said in the announcement: "Receiving the amazing news of being the first operator to receive a licence in Finland is a welcome reward for all the efforts of the team in the application process."

"We believe that our brands will offer players in Finland a safe and engaging entertainment product for many years to come. We're looking forward to July 2027."

The group operates the Wildz, Caxino, Wheelz, Spinz, Chipz, Tuplaus and Blingi casino brands, plus the Wildz Sports sportsbook. It holds licences from the Malta Gaming Authority and operates in Germany. It was founded by Finnish iGaming executives and has traded as Wildz Group since mid-2025, having previously operated under the Rootz name.

How the Finnish Market Is Changing

Finland is the last EU member state to end an online gambling monopoly. Parliament approved the new Gambling Act on 16 December 2025 by 158 votes to nine, and the president signed it on 16 January 2026, a shift that follows Veikkaus reshuffling roles as the market opens to competition.

Under the new framework, Veikkaus Oy keeps its exclusivity over lotteries, scratch cards and land-based casino gaming, while online casino and betting products move to a competitive, licensed market.

Operator interest has exceeded early forecasts. The National Police Board had received 75 licence applications by September 2026, up from 50 in June and above the 40-to-60 range that observers originally expected. Each applicant pays a non-refundable processing fee of €29,000.

Finland follows Denmark, which opened its market in 2012, and Sweden, which did so in 2019. Wildz's announcement does not mean the Finnish licensed market is open, and other operators may announce their own approvals before the July 2027 start. The National Police Board is still processing applications.