Lottery leading GGR topline for Veikkaus ahead of Finland transition
Lottery has once again proved to be a revenue making machine in Europe, this time seen in the FY25 financial report of Finland’s state-owned operator, Veikkaus.
End-of-year trading saw lottery games generate €497m in actual sales revenue, which represented the lion’s share of total revenue at 53.1%. Meanwhile, the segment generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €468m.
Lotto, the national lottery operated by Veikkaus, generated a total of €116m in GGR, driven by higher jackpot levels when pitted against FY24 a new draw offer. Eurojackpot recorded GGR of €156m, which was lower to previous year comparatives due to lower jackpot levels.
Scratch cards generated a total of €30m, up from €22m the previous year. Growth was driven by the addition of two new price-entry cards and a new seasonal New Year offer to complement the Christmas offer – generally well-received, according to Veikkaus management.
GGR from slot machines and physical games came in at €142m, a drop from the €148m in FY24 due to retail restructuring and reduction in machine numbers.
Moving on to betting and online casino, Veikkaus recorded GGR of €292m – boosted by H1 results but slowing down in the second half due to absence of major sporting events dragging down full-year results.
Olli Sarekoski, CEO of Veikkaus, commented: “Veikkaus’ performance in 2025 was in line with expectations: the long-standing decline in gross gaming revenue has been curbed and our direction is now the right one.
“The group’s actual sales revenue totalled €936.3m (FY24: €959.1m)s, while the profit for the year was €447.2m (FY24: €471.5m).”
In light of the report, the operator has also expressed ambitions to further grow internationally and achieve global brand recognition by the end of decade.
This will be primarily driven by the Veikkaus proprietary Fennica Gaming games studio, which at the end of 2025 was present in 17 countries across three continents.
“In line with our vision, we want to evolve from a national gaming company into a successful player also on the international stage and strengthen our competitiveness in an increasingly global market,” the report stated.
“Our goal is to be a respected and successful international money gaming group by 2030.”
Naturally, this appetite for expansion comes from the fact that Finland will launch its licensed online gaming market in 2027, and Veikkaus will lose part of the domestic market through intense competition – an environment much different than its current monopoly status.
Regardless, the state operator has welcomed the reforms on more than one occasion, arguing that the winner at the of the day will be the Finnish players – gaining access to a wide arrange of platform options, the latest innovations in the gaming sector, as well as enhanced player safety nets.
Sarekoski concluded: “For a long time, we have been calling for a model that would better channel gaming to licensed operators and reduce the role of the offshore market.
“The new system challenges us to renew ourselves and provides better conditions for building competitive business in a transparent market. It is our task to show that Veikkaus can succeed in this transition.”