Finnish Sports Betting Study 2025 – Monopoly Gets Just 3.96% of Active Bettors

Finland’s betting and gambling market is entering its most transformative phase in decades, and understanding the behaviour of active bettors is crucial ahead of the 2026 licensing reform.

This study, conducted by Pivekunkku.com in November 2025 within the Pitkävetokuningas Facebook community, examines where Finnish sports bettors prefer to place their wagers, which licenses they rely on, and how domestic operators (Veikkaus and Paf) perform against international betting platforms.

A total of 480 high-frequency active sports bettors participated, representing the largest dataset ever collected on Finland’s active betting population.

Key Findings (2025)

• Only 3.96% of Finland’s active bettors use the state monopoly Veikkaus as their primary platform.

• Epicbet, Paf and Unibet dominate the market, combining for 67.5% of all selections.

• 100% of respondents used tax-free EU/EEA-licensed platforms (Malta, Estonia, Åland/Finland).

• Malta is the most common license (50.62%), followed by Estonia (22.92%) and Åland (22.50%).

• Epicbet’s rapid growth places Estonia as Finland’s second-largest active betting license.

This survey comes at a pivotal moment. Finland’s gambling framework is undergoing major restructuring: gambling companies may apply for licenses starting in early 2026, and licensed gambling operations are expected to begin in early 2027.

This study therefore provides a critical baseline for understanding the market before Finland transitions to its new licensing system. Pivekunkku will repeat the study annually to track how the landscape evolves.

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Methodology

The survey was conducted as an open poll in the Pitkävetokuningas Facebook community.

The results reflect only the behaviour and preferences of active sports bettors — individuals who place bets at least weekly and represent the core of Finland’s sports betting market. This distinguishes the study from surveys of casual or infrequent gamblers, offering a clearer view of the core of Finland’s betting market.

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Data Collection Details

• Platform: Facebook (Pitkävetokuningas community)

• Period: 8–15 November 2025

• Respondents (n): 480

• Reach: 4,911 users

• Response rate: 9.8%

In social media–based research, a response rate of around 5% is already typical—so a rate of 9.8% indicates extremely strong engagement and high relevance of the topic to the community.

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Question Format

• Type: Single-choice question

• Question asked: “Which sports betting site do you use the most?”

• Response mode: Participants selected one primary platform

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Potential Biases

As with most open online surveys, several forms of methodological bias may occur:

• Self-selection bias: Participants were self-selected, not randomly sampled

• Facebook user bias: All respondents are active Facebook users

• Active bettor bias: The group consists of individuals who bet frequently and use multiple platforms

• Not representative of Finland’s entire population, only of active bettors

For these reasons, the results are highly valuable for analyzing the active bettor segment—but not for describing the behavior of all Finnish gamblers.

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Data Protection and Ethics

The poll was conducted using Facebook’s built-in questionnaire tools. Therefore:

• Votes were visible to group members (not an anonymous platform)

• Pivekunkku did not collect, store, or link responses to user identities

• All results were analyzed at an aggregated level only

• No personal identifiers were used

The report follows good research practices and aligns with ICC/ESOMAR principles, although it is not a formal panel study.

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Statistical Accuracy

• Sample size: 480

• Margin of error: ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level

A 95% confidence level is the most widely used standard in market research.
The margin of error indicates how accurately the results reflect the preferences of the underlying population—active bettors in Finland.

For example, Epicbet’s share of 22.92% means the true underlying preference could be approximately 18.5%–27.3%.

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Sample and Demographics

Facebook does not offer exact demographic data for poll respondents, but the structure of the Pitkävetokuningas community provides a highly reliable profile of the segment represented.

Age distribution of the community

Gender distribution

• 98% male

• 2% female

Interpretation of the demographic structure

The Pitkävetokuningas community is overwhelmingly male and relatively young:
over 70% are men aged 25–44.

This closely mirrors the profile of Finnish active bettors, who typically:

• follow sports intensively

• use mobile devices frequently

• compare odds across multiple operators

• switch platforms based on value and user experience

Thus, the sample represents precisely the segment that Finland’s upcoming licensing market will impact the most.

The study does not include casual gamblers (e.g., occasional lottery players), which is essential when interpreting results.

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Results: Full Sample (n = 480)

Operator ranking

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Interpretation of the Results

These results represent active bettors only; they do not describe casual gamblers or the general population.

Veikkaus’ 3.96% share does not reflect its total customer base.
Rather, it highlights that Finnish active bettors overwhelmingly prefer EU/EEA tax-free platforms such as Epicbet, Unibet, and Paf.

Among casual gamblers, Veikkaus’ market share is significantly higher—but this study does not include that group.

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License Distribution and Analysis

A key finding of this research is the distribution of licenses among platforms used by active bettors.

All selected platforms fall into two licensing categories:

• Domestic licensing (Finland & Åland)

• EU/EEA licenses (Malta & Estonia)

Notably, no non-EU (taxable) licenses such as Curaçao appear in the results.

License distribution (n = 480)

Key insight

100% of respondents played on tax-free platforms (EU/EEA licenses + Veikkaus).

This is one of the most significant findings:

Active Finnish bettors are highly aware of taxation and licensing and overwhelmingly choose tax-free EU-based operators.

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Interpretation of License Distribution

Malta remains the dominant license for Finnish bettors

Malta’s 50.6% share is unsurprising given the presence of:

• Unibet

• Bet365

• Coolbet

• Betsson

• LeoVegas

• NordicBet

All are established operators within the Finnish market.

Estonia rises sharply due to Epicbet’s growth

Epicbet’s 110 votes place Estonia as Finland’s second-largest sports betting license among active bettors.

Paf stands as the only domestic challenger

Paf’s strong performance (22.50%) shows that
Åland’s license is the only domestic framework competitive among active bettors.

Veikkaus has minimal relevance among active bettors

Veikkaus’ 3.96% share clearly indicates:

• It is not the primary choice for active bettors

• Its domestic license alone does not attract this segment

• Its platform features do not meet the expectations of modern sports bettors

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Veikkaus vs. Paf – Domestic Operators

The difference is stark:

• Paf: 22.50%

• Veikkaus: 3.96%

Thus, Paf is approximately 5.7 times more popular among active bettors.

This creates very different starting positions for Finnish operators when the licensing market opens in 2026–2027.

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Emerging Leaders and Market Dynamics

Epicbet’s rapid rise is especially notable:

• Epicbet: 22.92%

• Paf: 22.50%

• Unibet: 22.08%

Epicbet, founded in 2024, now stands alongside two brands that have operated online for over two decades.

Epicbet’s success reflects:

• strong user experience

• modern features

• willingness of active bettors to switch platforms

This shift emphasizes the competitive pressure of the upcoming licensing era.

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Player Migration and Long-Term Tracking

The year 2025 marks a strategic baseline:

Licensing timeline

• 2025: Last full year before licensing

• 2026: Transition year (application period, strategic moves)

• 2027: First year under the new licensed regime

Pivekunkku will repeat this study annually to observe:

• shifts in market share

• changes in betting behavior

• adoption of licensed operators

The comparison between 2025, 2026, and 2027 will show whether licensing genuinely shifts player behavior—or whether Malta and Estonia continue to dominate.

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About This Study

This study was conducted in November 2025 by Pivekunkku.com in collaboration with the Pitkävetokuningas Facebook community.

• Participants: 480

• Reach: 4,911

• Method: Single-choice poll

• Target group: Active sports bettors

The sample is self-selected but highly relevant for analyzing:

• market dynamics

• licensing strategy

• behavior of Finland’s core sports betting segment

Unlike nationwide studies conducted by agencies such as THL, this research focuses exclusively on active bettors, the group most impacted by Finland’s new gambling legislation.

No comparable public dataset exists.

Media outlets, analysts and industry stakeholders are free to quote this study with attribution to Pivekunkku.com. Additional charts or interviews are available on request.

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