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Kasinohai has released a study of 50 online casinos serving Finnish players, finding that advertised wagering requirements for welcome bonuses often understated the total amount players were required to stake before withdrawing winnings, as Finland prepares to overhaul its gambling market.
The researchers tested real-money welcome bonuses at 50 online casinos between June 15 and June 30, 2026. They registered accounts, deposited money, claimed bonuses, and recorded the terms presented at the time of claiming to calculate the effective wagering requirements across each offer.
The findings come ahead of Finland’s transition from the state-run Veikkaus monopoly to a licensing system under the Gambling Act (Rahapelilaki 10/2026). Licensed operators will be prohibited from offering welcome bonuses to new customers when the new regime takes effect on July 1, 2027.
Draft regulations covering online game features and stake limits, published by the Ministry of the Interior on June 10, remain open for public consultation until August 5.
The study found that 22 of the 50 casinos surveyed, or 44%, calculated wagering requirements on the combined value of the player’s deposit and bonus rather than on the bonus alone. In an example cited by the study, a €100 deposit matched with a €100 bonus carrying a nominal 30-times wagering requirement would require €6,000 in total wagers instead of €3,000 if the requirement applied only to the bonus.
Another 15 casinos, representing 30% of the sample, did not specify in their bonus terms whether the wagering requirement applied to the bonus alone or to the combined deposit and bonus amount.
The study also found that multi-stage welcome packages increased the effective wagering requirement, with offers advertised at between 20 and 30 times reaching an effective 40 times once all deposit stages had been completed.
Among the casinos tested, 12 operators, or 24%, set wagering requirements of 15 times or less, while 19 operators each fell into the 20-to-35-times and 40-times-or-more categories.
Kasinohai also found that 44% of the casinos did not disclose a maximum bet limit in the bonus terms available when players claimed the offer. Where limits were disclosed, they were commonly around €5 per spin.
The study said 58% of the casinos capped bonus winnings, 74% restricted which games contributed toward wagering requirements, and 16% imposed no deadline for completing the wagering requirement.
The research was conducted by Mimmi Malmström, Laura Korhonen and Lilli Partanen. Kasinohai said the 50 casinos were selected from operators featured on its own comparison site rather than through random sampling. The study did not identify individual operators and noted that many of the casinos, which are licensed in Curaçao, Malta, Anjouan and Estonia, may not seek licences under Finland’s new regime.
Jari Vähänen, Co-Founder and Partner at The Finnish Gambling Consultants, said earlier this month that the planned restrictions would be particularly challenging for online casinos.
“It is particularly problematic for digital casino operations that affiliate marketing and welcome bonuses are prohibited,” Vähänen said.
He added that a future round of legislative changes could ease the restrictions if Finland’s regulated market performs well after the reform.
“If the channelisation rate remains lower than expected and the number of problems does not increase, then I expect relaxations, at least affiliates and possibly welcome bonuses, in the legislation,” he said.
The full findings, dataset and methodology are available in Kasinohai’s June 2026 bonus terms study.