Finland tightens enforcement on influencers and sites promoting unlicensed gambling
Finland's National Police Board says it has issued four prohibition decisions and six conditional fines so far in 2026 against people and companies promoting unauthorised gambling. Conditional fines for companies run from €100,000 to €1.2 million.
South African players see the same pattern: offshore casinos pushed through social media, streams and affiliate sites, with no local licence behind them. Finland is going after the people doing the promoting, not only the operators. That matters here because any ad for an online casino aimed at South Africans comes from a business the National Gambling Act does not license. Treat promotion as marketing, not as a sign that a site is approved or safe.
What the Finnish authority announced
On 14 October 2026 the Gambling Administration, which sits inside Finland's National Police Board, published a statement on how it handles illegal gambling marketing. It says the number of prohibition decisions and conditional fines is clearly higher than in earlier years.
So far in 2026 it has issued four prohibition decisions and imposed six conditional fines. The prohibition decisions covered marketing on websites and social media.
How the fines work
A conditional fine is a penalty that is threatened first and only ordered to be paid if the person ignores a prohibition. The board says the aim is to make the marketing stop, not to punish.
- For individuals, the threatened fines ranged from €30,000 to €200,000.
- For companies, they ranged from €100,000 to €1.2 million.
- Where a fine was actually ordered to be paid, amounts imposed on individuals were between €20,000 and €100,000.
The board says the size of a fine depends on the scope and nature of the breach and on the ability of the party to pay. Prohibitions can be aimed at a company or at an individual.
Where the marketing happens
The statement singles out social media platforms and gaming or gambling live streams. Its reasoning is that marketing reaches a large audience quickly online, so enforcement needs a tool that works without delay. The board also says the legal meaning of marketing is broad and covers advertising and other promotion meant to raise demand for gambling games.
Finland currently gives only the state operator Veikkaus the right to market gambling games on the mainland. Trade press reports that the market is due to open to licensed operators in July 2027, but that date comes from iGaming Business, not the police statement.
What it means for South African players
South Africa has no licence category for online casino games, so every casino ad you meet here is for an offshore operator. Finland shows one way regulators are responding: putting legal pressure on promoters as well as sites. Nothing in the Finnish decision changes the rules in South Africa.
Before you act on any promotion, read how we separate "accepts South African players" from "licensed in South Africa" on our casino reviews, and remember that gambling is entertainment with real risk of loss.
What to watch next
Watch whether other European regulators copy the individual-level fines, and whether the number of licence applications in Finland keeps growing. Trade press says the National Police Board reported 75 applications last month, up from 50 in June. That figure is from iGaming Business and we have not seen it in an official release.