Finland hands MagicPoro first gambling prohibition under new gaming law

Finland's National Police Board has issued a prohibition and a EUR 1.2 million conditional fine against the Estonian operator MagicPoro, the first order of its kind since Parliament approved the country's new gambling law in 2025. The regulator says the company targeted Finnish players through brands including Pelikaani, Pelikioski and Bigwin.

GamblingNews, citing a report by NEXT.io, said the decision also puts MagicPoro on Finland's payment blocking list.

Why the National Police Board acted

MagicPoro holds an Estonian licence. Finland's Lottery Act does not allow an operator licensed elsewhere to actively target players in Finland, and that is the basis for the order.

The NPB opened its investigation into MagicPoro's brands in 2025. It tried to reach the company, which did not respond at first. Months later MagicPoro replied that its content was not aimed at any specific country, and said it had told partners to stop publishing marketing in Finnish.

The regulator says it kept finding substantial marketing after that reply. Its examples include two campaigns promoting the Pelikioski brand on the Viralify platform. The NPB also identified MagicPoro as the operator behind a further site, Pottila.

A marketing ban, a conditional fine and payment blocking

MagicPoro has been ordered to stop marketing its services in Finland. The EUR 1.2 million fine is conditional: it becomes payable only if the company is ruled to have breached the prohibition. The payment blocking entry applies in the meantime, with Finnish payment and financial services prevented from processing bets tied to the operator.

Enforcement precedent for operators licensed outside Finland

The timing gives the order weight beyond one company. It is the first prohibition the NPB has issued since Parliament approved the new gaming law in 2025, and it combines a marketing ban with payment blocking.

A licence from another country did not stop enforcement once the regulator concluded that Finnish customers were the target. Operators licensed outside Finland now have a concrete example of how the NPB proceeds when it believes a case is not being resolved voluntarily.

Parts of the account remain second-hand. MagicPoro's response reaches the public through NEXT.io's reporting as relayed by GamblingNews, its statement is not quoted in full there, and the NPB's underlying evidence on the Viralify campaigns has not been published in the material available. The prohibition, the conditional fine and the payment blocking entry are the parts that are clear.

The licensing question for MagicPoro

The order could also weigh on future licensing decisions if MagicPoro applies for a licence once Finland's commercial gaming market launches. The regulator has not announced such a decision; the reporting describes it as a possible consequence of the order.

For now the obligation is to stop marketing in Finland. The fine stays conditional and falls due only if the company is found to have breached the order.