They wouldn’t be the first name to the lips if asked to name one of the frontrunners in fitness development, but that’s exactly what Finland is. This is because a nation’s love of sports boasts a ratio of 1 out of every 8 people takes part in some form of sporting activity.
This survey carried out they the European Commission back in 2010 placed Finland top of the physical activity podium. So, why is there a deep love of sport? This is what we will be discussing. We will look into the culture of the people, what sports are of interest, and how this passion for physical activity is transferring over to the world of sports betting online.
A surprising sporting nation
The love of sports begins from a young age in Finland. Children are tightly packed into triple-layered clothing, strapped to a pair of skis, and hoisted down a hill. This bold parenting approach sees 90% of those under the age of 18 taking part in some form of sporting activity. There are many groups and clubs to support their development and amongst the favorite at the children’s age are football, ice hockey, and gymnastics.
They have developed a culture from a very young age and backed all sports through the Young Finland Association, and the sports organization of the Finnish Olympic Committee.
What helps to finance all this are grants provided by the Finnish National Lottery.
As we get into the ages over 18, the sporting interest amongst the population diversifies more. Adults have an interest in activities like skiing, cross-country skiing, snooker, and golf.
Still, football and ice hockey are the largest sporting interests. It is these markets that are seeing the biggest push within online betting sites.
Finnish laws of online gambling
When it comes to gambling online and joining any number of sports betting sites that are open to the Finnish market, it is 100 percent legal. Following you abide by the right measures of course.
The Laws in Finland are governed by the Lotteries Act. This is in place to protect the legal rights of gamblers and to combat its misuse through crime. The monitoring of the gambling sector is looked after by the National Police Board.
The last reform on this was enacted in 2020 to submit a re-examination of the Lotteries Act as a way of looking into how to reduce the harm of gambling.
The legal gambling age in Finland is 18 years and those visiting services or playing upon equipment in public must show proof of age before taking part.
The land-based sites in Finland are looked after by Finland’s Slot Machine Association known as RAY.
When it comes to the lottery and sports betting the Veikkaus Oy are responsible. Lastly, you have the Fintoto Oy that looks after horse racing.
But there are some grey clouds on the horizon. Whilst the state-run side of the gambling sector is performing as the government would like, the idea that players are going online doesn’t sit well with them.
There are rumbling going on within parliament, talks of making online gambling illegal. This has been met with a backlash from the EU that would like to see Finns have the same freedom of gambling as other EU member states.
This is by no means a new thing. The average EU county out there bans remote businesses from making online gambling services. However, these countries do not have laws that prohibit the online use of ‘foreign’ online casinos. Therefore, for someone in Finland wanting to bet on sports online, they can register with a casino like fi.unibet.com which is registered in the EU in Malta.
Top 10 sportsbooks in Finland
To get a neutral look at the Finnish market, we approached the Editor-in-Chief of suomiveikkaus.com Eija Virtanen, and asked her for a list of the top ten Finnish casinos on the market right now.
Here are those Finnish sports betting sites:
- Betiton Sport
- 888 Sport
- Leo Vegas Sport
- NetBet
- Betsson
- Mr Green
- Betsafe
- Casumo
- Karamba
- ComeOn Sport
Virtanen added: “Each sportsbook with the top 10 is able to provide their members with a unique bonus offer if registering for the first time. They also provide live sports streaming to help watch the casino in real-time and place in-play bets. All services are also available via mobile smartphone devices, without the need to download.”
What available and how to choose
There is an abundance of choices out there for Finns, and these top 10 are all licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority. Right now, laws have you covered to play in them and win real money in the process. There has yet been no formal announcement on the online legislation. So, for now, pick as many casinos as you want and enjoy your favorite sports.
Each casino holds over 25 global sports for users to bet on. Football is the largest online market comes with thousands of odds to pick from. Other sports include horse racing, swimming, ice hockey, golf, motorsports, rugby, and many more.
Online the odds provided are also better than those offered by high street bookies. This is because online, there are no overheads.
If picking your casino/bookmaker and you are unsure what you need to be looking at, first make sure you can join.
The first place to check is the casino’s banking page. This will list out all the services approved by the casinos that will help members to deposit and withdraw winnings. Check first, because you do not set up your payments until after the process of applying and verifying.
See if the casino has your sport, most likely it will, but also, it is wise to mention that you should only ever gamble on sports and teams you know.
There are so many attractive odds found in sports betting that it can be easy to think of taking a risk, but more money is lost this way than recouped. Only bet on what your sporting knowledge is limited to. If there is a sporting master inside of you and you want the ultimate test, then there is only one way to prove your worth. See if those years of sports upbringing really do pay off.