Is the Baltics the new region for Finnish casinos to establish?
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Online casinos have become a global phenomenon over the years. Gambling on the Internet is very popular in almost all corners of the world. One of the most gambling-friendly countries must be Finland, where people have also been gambling offline for decades.
Lately, more and more Finnish online casinos have been flocking into the Baltics. In this article, we will tell you more about how the Finns have found their way here, and why the Baltic casino scene, in general, seems to be thriving nowadays.
History of online gambling in the Baltics
As many readers might know, the Baltics have a long history of online gambling. Near the start of the new millennium, Estonian laws were changed to allow online gambling to flourish. After this, Eesti Maksu- ja Tolliamet, EMTA, would slowly start regulating online casinos.
In the span of just a few years, Estonia has become one of Europe’s most popular licensing authorities. Next to Malta Gaming Authority, EMTA is now easily the biggest player in the European casino industry.
In addition to EMTA, the Baltics are also home to plenty of gambling activity. For instance, the mega-company Evolution Gaming is known to have several live casino studios in Riga. These studios are used to host virtual live-dealer games such as blackjack, roulette, and baccarat.
The influx of Finnish casinos
The Finnish history of gambling starts somewhere in the 1940s. This is when the Finnish state would start providing slots and other games of luck for their citizens. Ever since these times, the Finnish state has had a strong stranglehold on Finnish gambling with its state-run monopoly.
Despite the monopoly, many Finns have found their way online in the last 20 years. Unlike Finnish Veikkaus, foreign casinos are able to provide their players with online casino bonuses and other campaigns, which have all become extremely popular among Finnish players.
Although there is indeed still a functioning state-run monopoly on Finnish soil, European laws state that Finns are still allowed to play outside the system when online. This has caused many to look into the open market for European online casinos from the likes of Malta and Estonia.
For the longest time, Malta used to be the only worthwhile gaming authority for Finns as it was the only authority in the European Union. A license from within the EU is needed for gambling wins to become tax-free. . Recently, though, the Estonian EMTA has arrived and is giving Malta casinos, as well as Finns, a decent run for their money.
Baltic casinos a hit among Finns
It is no wonder why Estonian online casinos have become such a popular destination among Finnish customers. Baltic casinos can essentially give Finns all the same benefits that they have gotten used to getting from Malta casinos. This includes welcome offers, deposit bonuses, free spins, cashbacks, and, of course, tax-free wins. All of these provide Finnish players with a very lucrative casino experience, unlike anything that is available on land.
Granted, it has taken Finnish online casino customers a little while to get accustomed to the rise of Estonian casinos. The Finnish gambling laws can be a bit tricky for the average person, which means the customer base for casinos may take a while to learn the ins and outs of different casino licenses. This is especially true because there are so many Curacao-licensed online casinos, which, in general, are infamous for their lack of security.
Now that Estonian casinos have been able to establish themselves in front of Finnish audiences, there seems to be no stopping them.
Conclusion
The answer to the question in the title of this article is simple: yes. Baltics is indeed currently the number one region for new Finnish online casinos. What is more, the Estonian EMTA license is also known for being cheaper than the famed Malta MGA license. This, in and of itself, is reason enough for many online gambling establishments to pick Baltics as their licensing region of choice.
