Best Bitcoin & Crypto Casinos Finland 2024

A crypto casino is a gambling platform that allows you to deposit and withdraw funds with Bitcoin and other cryptos. The popularity of online gambling in Finland has surged in recent times, contributing to a significant chunk of the country’s total gambling revenues. Online gambling sites, especially crypto casinos are becoming more and more. These sites have grown 21% over the past few years.

So, what’s the reason behind the spectacular growth of crypto casinos and other gambling websites in Finland? This article will take you through the history, the current state, and the future of crypto casinos in Finland. More importantly, you’ll find a list of the best crypto casinos Finland has to offer.

Popularity of crypto casinos in Finland

There are many factors contributing to the rise in the popularity of crypto casinos in Finland, here we’ll look at the most significant.

Game Variety

Many crypto casinos in Finland provide a diversity of games to their players. These include slots, table games, jackpots, poker, specialty games, and above all, crypto games. Some slot games have become immensely popular with the Finns, such as Reactoonz, Moon Princess, Book of Dead, Bonanza, and Fire in the Hole.

More acceptance of cryptos in Finland

Gamblers can buy Bitcoin and other cryptos with ease in Finland, using several crypto exchanges — another reason for its increased popularity. Besides, Bitcoin casinos and other crypto-gambling websites provide several benefits to gamblers. These include:

• Anonymity: Players stay anonymous while playing on crypto casinos in Finland.
• Transaction speed: Bitcoin-based transactions take no longer than 10 minutes to process.
• Benefiting from volatility: Gamblers can liquidate their crypto earnings and land windfall profits.

Crypto games

Several casino sites in Finland now offer crypto games. These games run on blockchains which offer greater transparency, efficiency and speed.

Low or zero transaction fees

Another reason behind the popularity of bitcoin casinos in Finland is their negligible transaction fees. Since there are no banks and financial institutions in the payment process, Finnish players don’t have to pay excessive commissions on deposits and withdrawals.

Friendly taxation regime

Finland is one of the few countries in the world which doesn’t tax online gamblers. This applies to gamblers wagering on onshore or offshore Bitcoin casinos. However, the crypto casino of your choice must be registered within the European Economic Area.

Safety and Trust

Crypto casinos in Finland have instituted several safety features. For example, Bitcoin casinos in Finland possess one or more licenses issued by the local regulator or overseas bodies.

Moreover, Finland has a few tight regulations for online gamblers. For instance, there is a daily maximum loss limit for every player. Like self-exclusion, this limit was placed to ensure that citizens gamble responsibly, and it was changed during the Covid-19 pandemic for land-based and online games. Players can only lose €500 daily when playing online games at casinos licensed by Veikkaus. The previous limit was €1,000.

However, every gambler must register themselves with Veikkaus, which is the only licensee in the country.

Incentives and rewards

Many crypto casinos in Finland offer an extensive range of bonuses and rewards to their new and existing players. The bonus range typically includes welcome bonuses, free spins, reload bonuses, and cashback. Furthermore, the bonus scheme of these bitcoin casinos is transparent and easy to understand. All these conditions make crypto casinos popular in Finland.

Gambling history of Finland

Historically, Finns haven’t viewed gambling in a positive light. This changed in the 1920s when the newly independent country saw gambling as an opportunity for economic development. At that time Finns were gambling on numerous lottery sites in Sweden.

The Finnish government didn’t want to lose this money and therefore legalised money lotteries and horse racing in the 1920s. In 1938, several social bodies collaborated and founded RAY, a slot machine association, in the country. It was RAY that laid down the principles of responsible gambling in Finland.

The Winter War and the Continuation War further contributed to the growth and development of gambling in Finland. During that time, the government established Veikkaus, which is the country’s only gambling operator today. In 2007, a gaming website, namely Play Among Friends (PAF) started its operations. This organization currently regulates all online gambling in Aland Islands.

Gambling laws in Finland

Though Finland allows gambling, the state-controlled firm controls all gambling-related services. In fact, Finland is the only European country to have a gambling monopoly.

The Finns did have three different state monopolies controlling gambling in the country. They were Veikkaus Oly, RAY, and Fintotoo. On January 1,2017, Velkkaus merged the operations of all these companies.

Finland considers state monopoly as the best way to prevent the misuse of gambling. All funds from gambling go into improving sports infrastructure and promoting social well-being. A portion of these funds also goes to promoting horse breeding and equestrian sports in the country.

Per a Ministry of Finance document, the annual gambling revenues in Finland are EUR 1.1 billion.

All gambling activities in the Aland region, an autonomous region in Finland, are regulated by the PAF. This state-owned body runs online gambling and gambling activities on cruise ships.

Since Finland is part of the European Union, it must follow the EU’s directives on online gambling. These directives also say that foreign crypto casinos and other gambling websites must hold licenses to operate within the country. But since Finland has monopolised gambling, foreign operators have no access to licences. Finland also disallows offshore crypto casinos and gambling websites to advertise themselves.

The Finland government believes that state monopoly controls gambling behavior. A study by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare has revealed that 11% of Finns had indulged in risky gambling that year. This figure was 15% in 2015. However, some Finns think otherwise. A 2019 poll by Kasino Curt said 37% of Finns wanted a licensing system in place.

Future of online gambling in Finland

As the only EU member state which monopolizes online gambling, there have been calls to change; this may become a reality sooner than later. With their Scandinavian neighbors all but successfully removing their respected monopolies, there’s no real reason Finland won’t follow suit.

The CEO of Veikkaus has argued for bringing all online gambling in Finland under one regulation. Some observers of the online gambling industry in Finland think Veikkaus wants its monopoly to go. There are several reasons why this monopoly should be abolished.

Revenue loss

Foreign crypto casino sites don’t receive licenses from the Finnish government. However, this stipulation doesn’t stop Finns from playing on offshore crypto sites in Finland.

A study by H2 Gambling Capital indicated that Veikkaus generated Euro 1.78 billion in 2017. Revenue from offshore gambling sites amounted to Euro 240 million in the same period. We are referring to Gross Gaming Revenue in this data set.

However, in 2021, the state monopoly’s revenue fell to Euro 112 billion, while the offshore sites’ figures rose to Euro 400 million. Thus, it is apparent that Finns prefer foreign crypto casinos in Finland for several reasons.

It seems Veikkaus has understood that Finland’s online gambling industry can grow only if the domestic market is more market-friendly.

Political opinion

In September 2022, Democratta, a leading newspaper in Finland, asked a few political parties about their stand on the state’s monopoly. Barring one party, the rest wanted the monopoly to go.

This point of view reflects the opinion of a large section of Finnish society. Many industry observers think Finland would soon start giving licenses to foreign gambling websites and crypto casinos.

That said, it’s also thought that Finland will have to revamp the National Police Board, which oversees the country’s gambling industry. The Board has only 34 employees but must raise its headcount to manage the new licensing regime.

New measures

Finland has recently framed a few rules for gambling operators, including Veikkaus. Under the new guidelines, the National Police Board can block the transactions of crypto casinos in Finland that are outside the monopoly system. This means if an offshore crypto casino advertises itself, the authorities can stop all transactions to and from this operator.

The new rules also target Veikkaus, which is required to keep a moderate marketing budget and educate its customers on responsible gambling.

Taxation on gambling

Finland doesn’t tax online gamblers if the platforms they are playing on are registered in the European Economic Area.

This relaxation doesn’t extend to gambling establishments who must pay a 12% tax on their gross profit, and this figure is 1.5% in the case of non-profit casinos. Furthermore, Finland charges 1.5% as tax on gross profits if casinos keep automated teller machines, slot games, video poker machines, and similar devices. This tax is also applicable if a casino gives away consumer products as prizes.

Furthermore, casinos must pay a 5% tax on all prizes and winnings from a bingo competition.

Casinos also must pay 30% on all prizes related to lotteries and similar contests.

Restrictions regarding crypto casino players in Finland

Despite online gambling being big in Finland, there are several restrictions for online gamblers in that country.

• The legal gambling age in Finland is 18, and above.
• They must have a bank account in Finland.
• Players must be permanent residents of Finland and have a Finnish social security number.

It is the duty of Veikkaus to ascertain the identity of every player of crypto casinos in Finland. You are required to give your correct address, date of birth, and other details to Veikkaus while opening an account. The Finnish government has placed other restrictions as well. For example, customers can’t play free games before registration with Veikkaus.

Conclusion

As mentioned in this text, playing in online crypto casinos in Finland offer several benefits. This includes varieties of casino games, lots of incentives, low transaction fees, and friendly taxation. Moreover, there are several measures like the age limit and maximum loss limit, put in place to ensure that all punters gamble responsibly.

Finland has several online crypto casinos to choose from. However, you must ensure that your preferred casino offers top-notch security features like SSL encryption, 24/7 customer support, and licensing from reliable Veikkaus. Considering these factors guarantees an amazing gaming experience.

FAQs

Here are two of the most frequently asked questions regarding crypto casinos in Finland and Bitcoin casinos.