Compliance Updates
The Finnish Supreme Administrative Court rules that skill-based fantasy sports games belong to Veikkaus monopoly

Article written by Antti Koivula, consulting legal advisor at Legal Gaming
On May 24, 2022 the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court delivered its judgment on IS-Liigapörssi-case (KHO:2022:60), in which the Supreme Administrative Court analysed whether skill-based fantasy sports games are within the scope of the Finnish Lotteries Act (1047/2001) (“Lotteries Act”) and thus belong to the state-owned gambling operator Veikkaus Oy’s (“Veikkaus”) monopoly.
Finland has a statutory gambling monopoly in place, under which Veikkaus has exclusive rights to operate and market gambling. According to the Lotteries Act, all games which include a participation fee, prizes of monetary value and the result is based on chance, are within Veikkaus monopoly. The main question in the case was if it is enough the game to be even remotely based on chance to be within the scope of the Lotteries Act and thus belong to Veikkaus monopoly, and if that was the case, whether the element of chance was present in the skill-based fantasy sports games in question.
IS-Liigapörssi-case concerned popular fantasy sports games in Finland, in which participants form virtual ice hockey teams from real ice hockey players and points were awarded based on the ice hockey players performance on real ice hockey matches. The fantasy sports games included entry fees and prizes and they had been run since 1995 by a Finnish media giant Sanoma Media Finland Oy (“Sanoma”). It was an undeniable fact that skilled and analytical participants who invested a considerable amount of time to the fantasy sports games outperformed participants who picked the players randomly.
The background of the case is lengthy, as the national authorities had tried to shut down the fantasy sports games run by Sanoma for more than a decade. In 2008 the Ministry of the Interior made a request for investigation for the police, which carried out a preliminary investigation. However, in 2010 the National Prosecution Authority (“NPA”) made a non-prosecution decision stating that it was left unresolved whether the Fantasy Sports games in question are within the scope of the Lotteries Act.
In 2017 the gambling enforcement authority, the National Police Board (“NPB”) started administrative proceedings against Sanoma regarding the fantasy sports games and two years later in 2019 the process had reached the point in which the NPB imposed a prohibition order and a conditional fine of EUR 300,000 for Sanoma on the basis that Sanoma was not allowed to run the fantasy sports games as they qualified as gambling. Sanoma appealed to the Helsinki Administrative Court arguing that the fantasy sports games in question were skill-games with which chance had no effect on the results and thus outside the scope of the Lotteries Act, but in 2021 the Helsinki Administrative Court ruled in favour of the NPB. Sanoma appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court.
The Supreme Administrative Court acknowledged that participants knowledge and skills were meaningful in the context of success, but reminded that at the same time random factors outside the participant’s control had a significant importance too. Thus, the chance of winning was at least partially based on luck. As the fantasy sports games also included entry fees and prize money, only Veikkaus was allowed to run them in Finland.
The Supreme Administrative Court’s decision hardly came as a surprise. The Lotteries Act’s definition of gambling is extremely broad, from which a good example is that even an ice fishing competition and an auction were previously deemed to fall within it. Nevertheless, the decision yet further strengthened the NPB’s authority and it remains to be seen what is the next competition or event after which they’ll go next.
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AGCO
AGCO Updates Responsible Gambling Training Standards for Gaming and Lottery

As of July 11, 2025, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) no longer requires Registrar approval for responsible gambling (RG) training programs for casino and lottery employees. This change applies to both the Gaming and Lottery Standards and supports a more flexible, outcomes-based approach.
What’s changing
• Standard 2.5 has been updated to remove the need for Registrar approval of RG training.
• Training must still be mandatory, regularly updated, and based on best practices.
• Employees must understand responsible gambling, their role in player protection, and how to support those showing signs of gambling harm.
What this change means for operators and lottery retailers
• Casino and lottery operators now have more flexibility to design and update RG training.
• Existing PlaySmart training remains valid.
Why this change matters
This change reduces red tape, encourages innovation, and maintains Ontario’s high standards for player protection. This also aligns with AGCO’s outcomes-based regulatory approach and brings greater consistency across gaming sectors, including iGaming.
The post AGCO Updates Responsible Gambling Training Standards for Gaming and Lottery appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Compliance Updates
VIDEO | Spanish, Brazilian regulator speak at 2025 Gaming in Spain Conference

2025 Gaming in Spain Conference once again brought together key stakeholders in Spain’s regulated iGaming industry.
If you were there, thank you for attending – also on behalf of our co-hosts Xavi Muñoz and ECIJA Law Firm!
Willem van Oort, Founder of Gaming in Spain, commented: “We are extremely pleased to have organized another successful Gaming in Spain Conference. All major stakeholders in Spain’s regulated online gambling market were present, as well as several experts from Brazil and other Latin American countries who highlighted the opportunities offered by these transatlantic markets. We almost can’t wait to see everyone again next year!”
In case you missed the event, full video recordings of key sessions are included below.
Mikel Arana, Director General, DGOJ: “Algorithms, advertising & deposit limits: Outlines and obligations”
The post VIDEO | Spanish, Brazilian regulator speak at 2025 Gaming in Spain Conference appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Compliance Updates
Ratification of the 2026 Betting Framework for LA FRANÇAISE DES JEUX, Incorporating Excessive Gambling Mitigation Strategies

Each year, the National Gaming Authority approves the gaming and betting programme for the coming year for operators holding exclusive rights (FDJ and PMU). This approval, where applicable, specifies the conditions for implementing the gaming programme. This is one of the manifestations of the Authority’s close monitoring of operators holding exclusive rights to ensure that they comply with their enhanced obligations, particularly with regard to the prevention of excessive gambling.
First, data from the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI) communicated by LA FRANÇAISE DES JEUX shows that, for the first time since 2020, the proportion of both excessive and problem gamblers is increasing in 2024 compared to 2023 for all activity under the operator’s exclusive rights, whereas these proportions remained stable between 2020 and 2023.
Furthermore, LA FRANÇAISE DES JEUX has indicated that it wishes to “ensure the attractiveness of the lottery and sports betting offering at points of sale by 2026 through product range promotion, innovation and digitalization”. The operator is thus proposing an intensification of its commercial offering, through dynamic promotion of all its game ranges, a strong innovation strategy and the use of incentive design techniques.
Taking these elements into account, in its decision of July 3, 2025 the ANJ decided to approve the programme for the 2026 games, subject to several strict conditions.
Generally speaking, and given the ambiguity of these messages, the company LA FRANÇAISE DES JEUX must refrain from accompanying the marketing of its new games with promotional messages offering incentives relating to the probability of winning associated with the game offered compared to other games that it markets (statements such as: “more than x chance(s) out of x of winning”, “Best chance of winning €X”) as well as the “minimum winnings” that may be won.
With regard to online games, the company must strive to limit the share of gross gaming revenue generated by excessive and problem players, across all ranges, all segments of the offer and all games offered online. With regard more specifically to the range of online games with successive draws, online scratch cards available from the physical distribution network at 3 euros and more, and that of “Web Exclusive” games, it must reduce this share substantially; in particular, the company must withdraw or modify games with the most excessive level of play.
With regard to draw games, the digital extension of the “Amigo” game is not authorised and the freeze on the range of successive draw games implemented in 2025 is maintained in 2026. The company LA FRANÇAISE DES JEUX must continue to reduce the share of gross gaming revenue (GGR) of the “Bingo Live” game generated by excessive players and take new measures to substantially reduce the risks of the Amigo game in the physical distribution network.
With regard to scratch cards offered in physical distribution networks and online, the freeze on the number of launches of new €3 games or relaunches of already authorised games is maintained at three in 2026. The number of launches of new €5 games or relaunches of already authorised games is limited to two in 2026. The number of scratch cards marketed in 2026 in physical distribution networks and, where applicable, available online based on a unit stake of €5 does not exceed nine.
Concerning games sold exclusively online, the ANJ is requesting a reduction in their total number, which particularly concerns the ranges of games at €2, €3 and €5.
The post Ratification of the 2026 Betting Framework for LA FRANÇAISE DES JEUX, Incorporating Excessive Gambling Mitigation Strategies appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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