Interview with Finnish Gambling Expert Matti Slotte: Talks About Upcoming 2026 Gambling Regulation

Today, we are happy to have with us Matti Slotte, a legend in the Finnish gambling scene since late 2000s, who is the owner and editor-in-chief of KasinoBonus.io. He will talk about his experiences with regulated and unregulated casinos that accept Finnish players, and with his expectations from the upcoming licensing regime that is about to go live on 1 January 2026 or before.

Welcome, Matti. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hei! I’m Matti Slotte, just turned 40. I’ve been involved with the Finnish gambling scene ever since it started. I got hired by a casino shortly thereafter, 2008 I think it was, and then worked for a decade on that side of the industry while still talking with the Finnish players. Then I left that to start my own website that would serve as a hangout place for all serious players in Finland who like to keep it real.

How is it going? Is your project successful?

It most certainly is. People always ask me if I’m that Matti from the 2000s – and I tell them, well yes, I am, thanks for noticing. Integrity goes a long way in this industry because it’s so scarce. It takes a while for people to recognize that, but once they do, they will trust you. Now it’s up to me to not betray that trust. One little mistake and it’s gone.

What is the situation in Finland regarding regulation right now?

The government has monopoly, as is often the case. They say the only legal way to gamble is through Veikkaus, but on the other hand they’re liberal, they don’t police that decision, they don’t chase the offshore operators or people who place bets there. In legal terms it’s a monopoly but in practice you can gamble wherever you want and there are no repercussions for anyone.

Is this a good thing for the players?

You’d think so, but no, not really. Other markets have shown that when things are too liberal, it just means that no one cares. In practice, it results in a lot of rogue and predatory casinos saying – hey, there’s Finland, we can do whatever we want on that market, let’s go make some money. On the other hand, you have casinos that always – and I mean always – do things by the book. These casinos want to be regulated. They aren’t as popular in Finland because all those small ones market more aggressively.

How can the player know if a casino is good or bad?

Read KasinoBonus.io reviews. And I mean it. We review casinos carefully for what they are, we reveal the truth about them, and we don’t let licensing or lack thereof influence our verdict.

What changes is Finland going through right now? How will the regulatory landscape change in 2026?

At the moment, we’re seeing firm intent to move to a licensing system that would allow foreign-based operators to appear in the Finnish gambling market legally. The parliament is expected to discuss it during the 2025 spring session, so at the moment we’re in the consultation stage.

Can you give us some hints?

It seems that Veikkaus will not retain monopoly on any gambling vertical other than lottery, as sports betting, slots and other casino games would all be made available to licensees. As is common these days, the regulatory body will primarily be concerned with advertising – limiting its accessibility to minors, just to name one example.

So, nothing spectacular here, nothing that would make a good headline?

This isn’t really how us Finns do things. I like how the government is approaching this. They’re regulating gambling, but they aren’t making any attempts to fine, tax, prohibit, or make a big splash with their actions. They just want to put operators under the same umbrella as it allows the proposed Finnish Supervisory Agency to do just that; supervise. This is an approach that says less is more, and is in contrast to what regulators in Germany, Spain or UK are doing – their grip is too tight and they’re causing operators and players to turn to the black market.

Finland didn’t have a black market until now because everything was allowed. Will there be one from 2026?

It’s 2027, actually, as this won’t be completed before then. They’ll start accepting applications for licences in 2026. To answer your question, yes, if we’re not careful then we could be faced with a large black market. We’d have that duality of having a regulated market and a black market. But I hope the licensing system will be easy-going and that most operators will want a Finnish licence.

What do you think is an optimal number of licensed casinos?

All of them! I’d ideally want every single casino that accepts a Finnish player to also have a Finnish Supervisory Agency licence. Not because I want to do business by the book – I’m not that kind of a person – but because my experience has shown it’s better to keep your enemies closer. It’s far better to issue a licence to a casino because then you can monitor the casino and its actions closely. You can fine them, you can tax them, you can revoke the licence, you can protect the player. If the casino remains unlicensed there’s nothing you can do, they’re in Curacao with a fake company and a local notary public is the company director. Who will you sue when a Finnish player is stolen from? I’d much rather have all these casinos licensed. So this would be my message to the regulator – take in as many casinos as you possibly can.

Thank you for this interview, Matti.

Thank you for having me. Hei hei!