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Key Points
- Real-money testing across 50 casinos serving Finnish players found that 44% calculated wagering requirements on both the deposit and the bonus, effectively doubling the required stakes.
- Multi-stage welcome packages advertised at 20x to 30x reached an effective 40x when completed in full.
- Bonuses for new customers and affiliate marketing will both be prohibited when Finland changes to the new licensing system, launching on 1 July 2027.
Welcome bonus offers at casinos targeting Finnish players frequently required significantly more wagering than their advertised multipliers suggested. This is the central finding of real-money testing conducted across 50 operators in June 2026, roughly a year before Finland's licensed market opens and removes such offers entirely.
The study, carried out by comparison site Kasinohai between 15 and 30 June 2026, followed a straightforward approach. Researchers registered accounts, deposited real money, and claimed each welcome bonus. Terms were recorded as a player encountered them at the point of claiming, and their combined effect was calculated across the full offer rather than taken from the headline multiplier.
Under the Gambling Act (Rahapelilaki 10/2026), bonuses aimed at new customers will no longer be permitted once licensed operations begin on 1 July 2027. Bonuses to existing customers remain permitted, subject to conditions set out in the Act. Finnish gambling consultant Jari Vähänen told iGaming Expert this month that banning both welcome bonuses and affiliate marketing presents a particular challenge for digital-first casino businesses.
The detail of how licensed operators may run online games is not yet settled. On 10 June the Ministry of the Interior circulated four draft decrees under Section 32 of the Act, including one governing the implementation of gambling by licence holders on the competitive market. That draft sets maximum permitted stakes for online casino games and rules on the features of online slot games. The consultation closes on 5 August 2026, and the regulations may still change significantly before adoption.
None of the practices identified in the study breach the licences currently held by these operators, and in each case the relevant conditions were included in the published bonus terms. What the research highlights is how those terms combine in practice and how clearly, or not, they are communicated at the point where players claim an offer.
How Wagering Requirements Were Calculated
Two structural features stood out as consistently increasing the real cost of bonus offers beyond their headline figures.
First, 22 of the 50 casinos (44%) calculated wagering requirements based on the combined value of the deposit and the bonus rather than the bonus alone. In practical terms, a €100 deposit matched with a €100 bonus at a nominal 30x requirement raises the total wagering from €3,000 to €6,000. A further 15 operators (30%) did not clearly state which calculation method applied in the terms available at the time of claiming.
Second, multi-stage welcome packages amplified the effect. When offers were split across a series of deposits, each with its own wagering requirement, packages promoted at 20x to 30x reached an effective 40x once fully completed.
Across the sample, headline wagering requirements varied widely. 12 casinos (24%) set requirements at 15x or lower, nineteen (38%) fell between 20x and 35x, and a further nineteen (38%) required 40x or more.
Maximum Bet Limits
Almost half of the casinos reviewed, 22 out of 50 (44%), did not specify a maximum bet limit in the bonus terms available at the point of claiming. Where limits were stated, they were typically around €5 per spin.
According to Kasinohai, exceeding the maximum bet is one of the more common reasons for bonuses and any associated winnings to be voided. The study did not examine whether these limits were disclosed elsewhere on operator websites or how frequently such enforcement occurs in practice.
Caps, Game Restrictions and Time Limits
Restrictions beyond wagering requirements were also widespread and often varied significantly between operators.
Twenty-nine operators (58%) imposed caps on the winnings players could retain from bonus play. These ranged considerably, with the lowest tier observed falling below €100 regardless of how much was won.
Thirty-seven operators (74%) restricted which games contributed toward wagering. Slots typically counted in full, while table games and live casino contributed only partially or, in roughly one-third of cases, not at all. This means players may not progress through wagering as quickly as expected if they play outside eligible game categories.
8 casinos (16%) imposed no time limit on completing wagering requirements. Where limits did apply, they ranged from as short as 24 to 72 hours to as long as 15 to 30 days.
A Record of a Product Being Legislated Away
The findings offer a snapshot of a market in its final phase. From July 2027, the types of welcome bonus structures examined in this study will no longer be available to new customers of licensed operators serving Finnish players.
Finland is moving away from the Veikkaus monopoly towards a licensing-based system. The Gambling Act entered into force in January 2026, licence applications opened on 1 March, and the regulated market will launch on 1 July 2027. At that point, oversight will shift from the National Police Board to the new Finnish Supervisory Agency. More than 50 licence applications have already been submitted. Vähänen expects the total to reach between 80 and 100, roughly double initial projections.
At the heart of the reform is channelisation, meaning the share of gambling that takes place within the regulated system. This share is currently estimated at around 50%, down from roughly 90% in earlier years. H2 Gambling Capital estimates Finland's total gambling GGR at €1.9 billion for 2026.
Vähänen has also indicated that a second phase of legislative reform is highly likely, with its direction depending on how the market develops. If channelisation remains below expectations without a corresponding rise in gambling-related harm, restrictions on affiliates and potentially on bonuses could be eased. If harm increases, further tightening is likely.
Against this backdrop, the study provides a useful empirical record of how welcome bonuses were structured in this market. Its central finding is that advertised multipliers often understated the real wagering required, and that maximum bet limits were the least clearly disclosed condition at the point of claiming. These are precisely the types of issues that any future regulatory revision would need to address, and the Ministry's draft decrees remain open for comment until 5 August 2026.
At the same time, the data shows meaningful variation between operators. Around a quarter of those tested offered wagering requirements that Kasinohai classifies as favourable to players, and a minority applied requirements only to the bonus itself. Operators that compete on transparency and low-friction structures rather than headline figures may find the incoming regime works in their favour.
Methodology
Researchers Mimmi Malmström, Laura Korhonen, and Lilli Partanen registered accounts, deposited real money, claimed each welcome bonus, and recorded the wagering requirements and associated conditions as presented at the point of claiming, between 15 and 30 June 2026.
A term was classified as "not clearly stated" if it did not appear as a specific figure in the bonus terms and conditions available at the point of claiming.
The full dataset and methodology are available at Kasinohai.
Limitations and Disclosure
The 50 casinos included in the study were selected from those featured on Kasinohai's own website rather than randomly sampled from the wider market, and the findings should be interpreted accordingly. The operators hold licences in Curaçao, Malta, Anjouan, and Estonia, and many are unlikely to apply for a Finnish licence.
The findings represent a snapshot in time. Terms recorded in June 2026 may have changed since. The study focuses exclusively on welcome bonuses and does not cover reload offers, cashback, or loyalty programmes. Individual operators are not identified, and operator-level results are not published.
Kasinohai has previously described wagering requirements in the 20x to 35x range as reasonable, reflecting prevailing market standards. That classification is now under review.
B.E. Delmer, Gambling911.com
