If you want to hunt for better odds or different sports markets, you can also bet on several international sports betting sites such as Betsson, Unibet or 1xBet. Place your bet on games such as Counter Strike, League of Legends, Dota 2 or Fortnite. You can also enjoy your favorite sports played electronically and place bets on FIFA or NHL games.
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EnglishMost Popular eSports Bookies in Finland
Betting and gambling in general has been popular in Finland for decades. Even when there were stricter prohibitions to gambling, the Finns traveled to Sweden to enjoy the thrills of betting. Since then, betting was legalized and more opportunities for sports betting have developed.
Esports has been popular all over the world for several years already and more and more Finnish people are becoming acquainted with esports and the betting opportunities it offers. It is most popular within the gaming community itself, but its popularity is on the rise among bettors that are used to placing wagers on real sports events. The only Finnish betting site is Veikkaus and it offers a variety of esports options to choose from.
History of esports betting in Finland
Esports became a popular pastime in Finland in the 1990’s and its appeal has been on the rise ever since. It has gained momentum in the 2000’s and in 2010 the Finnish Esports Federation (SEUL) was established. From 2016 Finland has arranged The Finnish esports championships which also gained international notion. As esports have gained more interest, esports betting has also become more popular. What started as a pastime of the gaming community has evolved to gain interest from most of the betting enthusiasts
Esports current status in Finland
In the latter part of the 2010’s the esport community has grown dramatically. When earlier gaming might have been a popular pastime of adolescent males, nowadays it is widely accepted throughout all age groups and genders. As the tournaments and gaming has become more professional, also the commercial side of gaming has taken big leaps. Big teams have sponsorship deals and have their own merchandise. Also during the past few years, the esports betting has become almost as popular as the traditional sports in any sportsbook.
Future of esports betting in Finland
As esports are gaining popularity and more, wider variety, of people are finding it entertaining, the more opportunities and bigger revenues the sports will gain. With more competitive odds and interesting markets, the tournaments will have a broader audience and the sports betting sites will gain more interest towards esports betting. Already internationally online esports betting is in the top five of most interesting sports betting options and Finland is coming along in the wake of the rest of the world.
The history of gambling in Finland
Gambling has been legal in Finland for around a hundred years now and the history of gambling has overgone some ups and downs. The consensus when it comes to gambling, slot machines and lotteries has not changed much though as the monopoly status of Finnish Veikkaus is still prominent in the country. In 1920’s the first slot machines came into the country and their operation, lotteries and horse-race betting became legal. Not long after gambling was monopolized, and all entrepreneurial wagering services were banned.
What has changed?
At first the Finnish people started to get acquainted with the gaming world and started to form teams and play against each other. Then as the public got interested in the esport and teams had some success, betting on esports became more popular. At first most of the gaming audience consisted of game enthusiasts and of people that were gamers themselves. Currently more and more people are getting interested in the games and even those that do not consider themselves to be a part of the gaming world have started to wager on the esports and as revenues grow the more attractive the markets will become.
The turning point of gambling in Finland was the increased use of the internet and introduction of online casinos and sportsbooks. Now approximately 40 % of all gambling takes place online. As it has become more convenient to watch games and gamble simultaneously, the internet provides increased excitement and entertainment to game enthusiasts.
As part of the gambling problem solving program, the Finnish government banned all public advertising of international gambling sites in 2021. This may result in a minor dip in https://bettingranker.com/ in general, but this is not anticipated to be permanent. There has been a discussion of a much stricter laws of restricting money transfers to foreign betting sites and should these laws become effective, this could have a much larger impact in the betting culture in Finland.
Are casinos legal in Finland?
Finland is a strict country when it comes to gambling. There is a state-governed monopoly that controls all gambling in Finland and only that instance, Veikkaus, can provide legal gambling sites and casinos in Finland. There are only two land-based casinos in Finland and only one online gambling site available in. However, it is legal to use international gambling sites in Finland.
Online gambling is very popular in Finland and even though betting sites cannot be registered in Finland, they can be created outside the country. Finnish bettors do use foreign sites also but are especially keen on European sites and especially ones that are available in fluent Finnish language.
Esports legislation in Finland
There have been many changes regarding esports and its legislation over the past few years. Most of the legislature is concerned with the age limitations of the players and weavers but there are other laws and regulations that adhere to the competitive side of esports. For example, the tournaments and their duration are regulated as well as the technical requirements of the teams.
The corruption and possible fixed games are also regulated and there can be sanctions imposed on gamers that will not adhere to them. Also doping testing is done regularly during esports tournaments and there are sanctions for impeachments.
Age restrictions on esports in Finland
Age limits are one of the most talked about legislative aspect of the esports world as well as the gambling laws. There are age limits to the games and the Pan European Game Information or PEGI for short regulates and enforces the age limits in Finland. There is a lenience of three years regarding the age limits though. This means that if a game is PEGI 12, kids as young as 9 can play them when accompanied by a guardian. Accordingly this law is applicable to PEGI 16 games that are thus allowed to 13-year-olds. Games with PEGI 18 have no lenience and all gamers participating in the games have to be over 18.
Sponsorship restrictions
Only online operators with the Finnish gambling license are allowed to promote their gambling products. This presents a problem for example regarding sponsorships. As some bigger international gamers and teams have gambling sites as their sponsors, this is not possible in Finland as the only operator that can market their services is Finnish Veikkaus.
Betting acts in Finland
Gambling in Finland is state-controlled and only Veikkaus can provide gambling and betting services in Finland. If a Finnish bettor wants some variety in their gambling regime, they can resort to using international online casinos and gambling sites. This is quite an easy transition for Finnsh gamblers since most people are familiar with using international internet sites and can also operate on English sites. Furthermore, there are a lot of casinos that are created in Finnish language also.
Gambling is heavily state restricted in Finland and a lot of emphasis has been put on the responsible gaming and gambling. Even though gambling is currently monopolized and governed by the state, even more and stricter policies have been installed for the gambling industry. As of 1.1.2022 only the state governed Veikkaus is allowed to advertise its products and services in Finland. All other gambling sites are prohibited to promote their sites in Finland. If the regulations are violated, these sites are entered into a blacklist and Finnish gamblers are prohibited to make deposits into these sites.
The payment blocks are applicable from 1.1.2023 at the earliest. At least in the early part of the 2022 the foreign gambling sites have been able to advertise their sites and promotions via emails and text messages and only the public campaigns have been actively restricted. This might change in the future though, as the legislation regarding e-mail advertising is further developed.
Finnish players favorite games
Finnish people seem to follow the mainstream when it comes to favorite games. The most played esport games at the moment are
- League of Legends (MOBA)
- Dota 2 (MOBA)
- Valorant (FPS)
- Starcraft 2 (RTS)
- Fortnite (BR)
- NHL (sport)
- FIFA (sport)
The popularity of the games between the gamers and gamblers has the same trajectory. As Finnish gamers are becoming more advanced in the gaming world, the more attractive the games and teams become to the Finnish gamblers. Finnish gamblers that are more acquainted with the gaming industry also bet on international markets and their favorite teams can be from any country in the world as the tournaments are covered by a gambling site available for deposits from Finland.
The odds and the gambling markets are a big influence on what games are considered attractive, but it is also dependent on the personal preferences of the gambler.
Payment methods in Finland
Finnish people are quite reserved and cautious when it comes to spending money online. This also applies to the use of online casinos and esports betting. Most Finnish bettors’ favorite payment methods are those that utilize their bank accounts. These are the Trustly payment service, credit cards and bank transfers. These are also the methods that are mostly offered on the sites preferred by the Finnish gamblers.
Bank transfers are still preferred by a large portion of Finnish gamblers and most sites offer this as a payment method. The deposits usually go through immediately, but withdrawals can take up to several days.
Trustly is also a very popular payment method in Finland. Trustly is a service that enables the payments between the customer’s bank account and the online casino or sports book site. The customer needs to fill out their bank credentials with Trustly which then completes the transfer from the account. This payment method is easy and reliable and most importantly the withdrawals are fast which makes it so popular among Finnish gamblers.
In addition, the use of e-wallets, mobile payments and the use of bitcoin is increasing among Finnish bettors.
FAQs
How is esports betting in Finland different from other betting?
Esports betting offers a wider variety or options than regular sports betting. Whereas sports betting offers only a couple of options such as money line, straight bets and handicap bets. With esports the bettor may in addition have the option to bet on first map, first blood or first kill. Also, the event formats may differ as esports usually combine both tournament and league formats.
Where can I bet on esports in Finland?
All betting is monopolized in Finland. This means that there is only one betting site, Veikkaus, with a Finnish license. You can also bet on esports at various international betting sites online.
Do I need to pay taxes on my wins in Finland?
All betting wins accrued from gambling on the Finnish betting site, Veikkaus, are tax-free for Finnish citizens. This holds true also when the withdrawals are made from a betting site that is registered in the European Economic area. All revenues from overseas online casinos and betting sites are applicable to taxation in Finland. The taxes from gambling wins have to be claimed at the persons own initiative as they submit their tax returns for the year.
Are esports betting sites reliable in Finland?
Yes. But be sure to gamble on licensed sites only and keep track of how much you personally can afford to wager on a monthly basis.