Finnish Gambling Marketing Rules for Affiliates: What Changes in 2027

Affiliate marketing for gambling won’t be permitted in Finland when the licensed market opens on 1 July 2027. The new Gambling Act lists the channels where licensed operators may market, and affiliate marketing isn’t one of them. For casino and betting affiliate sites targeting Finnish players, that means the standard business model, sending traffic to operators for a commission, has no legal basis in Finland. The rules before July 2027 are no looser: under the current monopoly system, marketing foreign gambling in Finland is already prohibited.

This post explains what the rules say, what counts as affiliate marketing, which sanctions apply, and what options affiliates have.

Is affiliate marketing allowed under Finland’s new Gambling Act?

No. Under the new Act, affiliate marketing is implicitly prohibited, because it was left out of the permitted marketing channels listed in Section 51.

The permitted channels are limited. Licensed operators may market on their own websites and non-interactive social media, on TV and radio, at sports and public events, in print and equivalent digital publications, at points of sale, and in search engines for directly related search terms.

The legislator’s intent was clear from the start. The Government Bill explicitly prohibited affiliate marketing based on directing online traffic to gambling websites. The ban was justified by the risk that affiliate marketing could lead to abuses in the information given to players and blur the line between licence holders and illegal operators.

Market analysts have drawn the practical conclusion. According to an analysis by Bonusetu, the rules also effectively ban SEO-based affiliate websites, the sites users find by searching Google for information about casinos and their bonuses.

What counts as affiliate marketing in Finland?

Affiliate marketing is marketing where a third party directs traffic to a gambling operator, usually in exchange for a commission.

Eversheds Sutherland describes such sites as often presented as informational, while their actual primary purpose is to direct users to gambling operators’ websites through identifiable links, codes or other means. The label on the site doesn’t decide the matter. What matters is whether the site’s purpose is to send players to operators.

Typical examples include:

• casino and betting review sites with links to operators
• bonus and “free spins” comparison sites
• sites using tracking links or promo codes
• content networks earning revenue share or cost-per-acquisition fees from operators

Links don’t have to be followed to count. A nofollow or sponsored tag changes how Google treats a link, but it doesn’t change whether the activity is marketing under the Gambling Act. Bonus content has an extra problem too: free-game offers and most bonus promotions are banned in advertising.

Purely informational content with no commercial relationship with any operator, such as game rules or responsible gambling guidance, is a different situation. Whether a specific site falls inside or outside the rules is a legal assessment, and it needs a Finnish lawyer.

What are the rules before July 2027?

Until the new system starts, the monopoly rules apply. Veikkaus Oy has the exclusive right to operate and market gambling in Finland, and marketing foreign gambling companies is prohibited.

This isn’t theoretical. In one case, the Consumer Ombudsman examined a commercial cooperation between the band JVG and the gambling company Unibet. The National Police Board found that the marketing violated the Lotteries Act because it directed foreign gambling marketing to Finland. The Consumer Ombudsman added that illegal marketing is also contrary to good practice under the Consumer Protection Act.

Finland has also used payment measures. Payment blocks were introduced in 2023.

There is a longer-term consequence for operators too. Finnplay reported that the bill would prevent a licence from being granted if the applicant had received a prohibition order or sanction fee for illegal gambling operation or marketing under the current Lotteries Act, within the two years before assessment and after 1 September 2024. Operators who market in Finland through affiliates now may therefore put their own future licence at risk. Check the final wording of the Act with a lawyer.

What sanctions apply from July 2027?

The new supervisory authority will have a wider set of tools than the current regulator.

Sanctions include administrative penalty payments, blocking or removal of domains and marketing content, licence revocation, and, where applicable, criminal liability. To tackle illegal gambling and marketing outside the licensed system, the authority can also issue injunctions enforceable by conditional fines. All decisions on injunctions, administrative fines, penalty payments and licence withdrawals will be public.

The authority can order service providers to remove unlicensed gambling content or marketing, and in more severe cases can have domain names removed from the .fi register.

The reach of the rules extends beyond operators. Facilitating non-compliant gambling advertising, including marketing from unlicensed operators aimed at Finnish consumers, is itself a regulated activity subject to enforcement.

Do the rules apply to affiliates based outside Finland?

The rules are about marketing aimed at Finland, not about where the affiliate is based. A site run from Malta or elsewhere that targets Finnish players with Finnish-language content and operator links is marketing gambling in Finland. The enforcement tools, such as content removal orders, domain measures and injunctions, are designed to reach activity outside the licensed system.

In practice, a foreign base may make enforcement slower, but it doesn’t make Finnish-targeted affiliate marketing lawful. Anyone running Finnish-language gambling affiliate sites should get Finnish legal advice before July 2027.

What options do gambling affiliates have?

Affiliates targeting Finland have five broad options, with very different levels of risk.

Pivot to information only

Some sites can become purely informational: game rules, responsible gambling information, market news and regulation explainers, without operator links, codes or commissions. That removes the core affiliate activity, though whether the remaining content counts as marketing still needs legal review.

Work for operators directly

A licensed operator’s own website is a permitted channel, and marketing can be produced by others under contract with the licence holder. Former affiliates with Finnish content and SEO skills can offer those services to operators, producing content for the operator’s own site rather than running their own referral sites. See iGaming SEO in Finland for what operators need.

Look at media channels

Print media and their equivalent digital publications are a permitted channel, but what that covers is still debated. One industry figure told iGaming Business that the law allows marketing in digital media connected to print media, and asked whether that creates a loophole for affiliate operations by print media businesses. Until the supervisory authority clarifies this, it’s an open question, not a strategy.

Focus on other markets

Affiliate rules differ between countries, so affiliates can move their focus to markets where affiliate marketing is permitted. Check each market’s current rules; see Nordic link building for how the Nordic markets differ in general.

Sell or repurpose the site

For some sites, the realistic option is to exit the Finnish gambling niche, either by selling the site or repurposing the domain for another topic.

What are the most common misconceptions about the affiliate rules?

The most common misconception is that opening the market means opening it to affiliates.

1. “The market opens, so affiliates are back.” Licensed operators may market, but not through affiliates.
2. “Nofollow links make it fine.” Link attributes matter to Google, not to the Gambling Act.
3. “We’re based abroad, so it doesn’t apply.” The rules target marketing aimed at Finland.
4. “We only link to licensed operators.” Affiliate marketing isn’t a permitted channel even for licensed operators.
5. “Bonus content is just information.” Bonus promotions are largely banned in gambling advertising.
6. “We’ll wait and see.” Decisions will be public, and operators may risk their own licence by using affiliates now.

For how operators can still earn links legitimately, see casino link building in Finland. For Google’s separate rules on paid and affiliate links, see paid links, Google’s rules and Finnish advertising labelling.

How SEO Butler can help

SEO Butler Limited, which runs backlinksfinland.com, works with native Finnish content and SEO. For operators preparing for July 2027, and for affiliates moving towards compliant work, you can contact SEO Butler. For the wider picture, see our guide to link building in Finland.

Disclaimer: This post is general information about Finnish gambling marketing rules. It isn’t legal advice. The Gambling Act is new, the supervisory authority has yet to issue detailed guidance, and interpretations may change. Anyone running gambling affiliate sites or marketing aimed at Finland should get advice from a Finnish lawyer. Gambling is only for people aged 18 or over. If gambling is causing problems for you or someone close to you, contact Peluuri, Finland’s free and confidential gambling helpline, on 0800 100 101. backlinksfinland.com is owned by SEO-Butler Limited.

Frequently asked questions

Is gambling affiliate marketing legal in Finland?

Not under the licensed system starting on 1 July 2027. Affiliate marketing isn’t among the permitted marketing channels in Section 51 of the Gambling Act, so it’s effectively prohibited. Before July 2027, marketing foreign gambling in Finland is already prohibited under the monopoly rules.

What happens to Finnish casino affiliate sites in July 2027?

Sites that direct Finnish players to operators for a commission have no permitted place in the new system. The supervisory authority can order content removal, block or remove domains, and issue injunctions enforced by conditional fines. Site owners should get legal advice and consider pivoting, refocusing or selling.

Can licensed operators work with affiliates in Finland?

No. Licensed operators may only market through the channels listed in the Act, and affiliate marketing isn’t one of them. Using affiliates before July 2027 may also count against an operator’s own licence application.

Does the Finnish affiliate ban apply to foreign websites?

The rules are about marketing aimed at Finnish consumers, wherever the site is based. The enforcement tools are designed to reach marketing outside the licensed system.

Who enforces gambling marketing rules in Finland?

The National Police Board supervises gambling until 30 June 2027. From 1 July 2027, the Finnish Supervisory Agency (Lupa- ja valvontavirasto) takes over licensing and supervision, including marketing.