Veikkaus returns to growth with €471.3m in H1 revenue

Digital channels drove a 1% revenue rise and a 2% increase in profit, as the state operator prepares to pay around €1bn for its remaining exclusive rights.

Finland is the last major online gambling monopoly in the European Union, and it opens to licensed competition on 1 July 2027. Veikkaus published its January–June figures on 3 September, reporting what the state-owned operator called a return to growth.

Digital channels lift revenue and profit

Veikkaus Group’s actual sales revenue for the six months to 30 June was €471.3 million, up 1% on the €466.4 million recorded a year earlier. Operating profit reached €227.7 million and profit for the period €234.2 million, a 2% increase.

Veikkaus attributed the improvement mainly to growth in digital business. Gross gaming revenue from digital channels rose 9.1% in the Lottery and Land Based Gaming division and 5.0% in Betting and iCasino. Digital accounted for 64.5% of parent company Veikkaus Ltd’s gross gaming revenue, up 3.6 percentage points, with the remaining 35.5% coming from physical points of sale.

Retail moved the other way. Gross gaming revenue from slot machines and physical table games fell to €63.4 million from €71.3 million, which Veikkaus put down to a shrinking retail network and a reduced number of machines. Lottery games grew to €254.5 million from €246.1 million, helped by the Milli game launched in June 2025 and Lotto jackpot levels above the comparison period. The two lines together left the division flat at €317.9 million.

Registered customers reached 2,672,000 at the end of June, roughly 50,000 more than a year earlier.

Fennica Gaming revenue rises 80.6%

B2B subsidiary Fennica Gaming increased revenue to €10.3 million from €5.7 million. Veikkaus noted that the comparison period did not include revenue from its Finnish businesses, because the Game Studio only transferred to Fennica at the start of April 2025.

Fennica launched eInstants and online casino games in Italy, Canada, two German states, Mexico, the Czech Republic, and Iceland during the half. It now operates in 21 markets across three continents, with iCasino games live in seven of them.

Veikkaus’ CEO Olli Sarekoski said: 

‘Veikkaus’ first half of the year has developed positively and in line with our expectations: we have returned to a growth path. It is great to see that our investments in digital business and technical capabilities are delivering results in the current operating environment.’

The price of retained exclusivity

Veikkaus set up two subsidiaries in May, one for its exclusive products and one for the competitive market, and filed licence applications for both. Around 50 other companies had applied by the end of June, a total the company said was in line with its expectations.

After July 2027, Veikkaus will keep exclusive rights to lottery games, scratch cards, slot machines, and physical table games. It will pay market-based compensation for that exclusivity of approximately one billion euros across the ten-year licence period, and says a significant part of the sum falls due on a front-loaded basis during 2026.

The group result sits alongside a weaker parent company performance. Veikkaus Ltd’s operating profit fell to €227.3 million from €242.7 million, because the 2025 comparison included €20.7 million of non-recurring income from the Game Studio’s internal business.

On 2 September, Veikkaus opened change negotiations covering its Data and AI unit, two business units, and its finance teams, with 15 positions planned to end and 17 new ones planned to be created. The same day, it joined Rahapeliala ry, the trade body representing online gambling operators in Finland.

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