With speculation mounting that Finland’s forthcoming gambling reforms will restrict the scope of operations of Åland’s only licensed gaming operator, PAF, this article analyses a move the autonomous region of Finland is considering - implementing an open licensing regime for online gambling. Should the island follow this route it could have repercussions in gaming circles far beyond the island’s Baltic home.

The Åland Islands have said they would consider licensing foreign operators to provide online gambling to the Finnish mainland, should the new State Lotteries Act not make provision for the autonomous region’s own monopoly PAF.

A ministerial working group has presented  its final stage proposals to Finland’s interior Minister, Anne Holmlund, clearing the way for Finland’s slot machine monopoly, RAY, to begin offer online gambling services.

Debates held last week in the Finnish Parliament set the ball rolling in the second and final stage of a process designed to reform the Nordic country’s gambling legislation. But many observers now see the gambling monopoly likely to be cemented over the coming weeks, despite calls from private operators that the European Commission take action following a tightening of advertising rules.

Finland’s state monopoly casino operator has technology in place to launch an internet poker room and is likely to do so before the end of this year, according to local newspaper reports.

Finland moved a step closer to passing new gambling legislation last week after a constitutional committee approved proposals and offered hope to Åland based operator PAF.

Online gambling companies with Finnish-language websites risk being found in violation of Finland’s Lotteries Act following last week’s decision by the country’s Prosecutor General in a case involving local operator PAF.

An official report on proposed amendments to Finland’s Lotteries Act was debated in Helsinki last week. Broadly the report recommends raising age limits for all forms of gambling and tighter restrictions on advertising, but further proposals addressing the possible introduction of licensing regimes for specific types of gambling are due to be unveiled before the end of the year.

The editor of a Helsinki magazine which accepted ads from online gambling firms looks set to be become the latest individual to be prosecuted under Finland’s Lotteries Act, but observers say that the seemingly random targeting of Metropoli magazine also reveals some uniquely Finnish anxieties that are shaping the reform of the country’s gaming laws.

Finland’s state-owned gaming operator RAY plans to launch into online casino gaming and poker by the middle of next year following recently unveiled changes to the Finnish government’s gambling policy, RAY’s director of gaming tells GamblingCompliance.