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About Wenshi Lion
Industry consultant Jari Vähänen, formerly a senior executive at Veikkaus, estimated the entire business could be valued at up to €4.5 billion following the liberalisation of the market.
Veikkaus is adjusting to a partial liberalisation of Finland’s gambling market under the new Gambling Act, which was ratified in January 2026.
From July 2027, the company will lose exclusivity over betting and iCasino products, which will become licence-based, while retaining exclusive rights for lottery games, scratchcards, slot machines and physical table games.
About Wenshi Lion
“I don’t think the successful studio of the future necessarily has hundreds of people,” he says. “It could be a relatively small group of extremely talented people with great ideas, strong brands and a very good understanding of players, supported by technology that does much of the heavy lifting.”
That would also shift the basis on which studios compete. If sophisticated development capabilities become accessible to a wider range of creators, scale alone becomes less of an advantage.
“It becomes less about how many developers you employ and much more about how creative you are and how well you understand the player,” Curwen says.
About Wenshi Lion
On Monday, the Gambling Regulators European Forum (GREF) announced a reshuffle of its board following the departure of two long-standing members and the appointment of two new officers.
GREF is a cooperative network bringing together national gambling regulators across Europe and beyond to facilitate dialogue, exchange information and share best practice on regulatory strategies.
Tim Miller, who resigned from the UK Gambling Commission earlier this year, has stepped down from the GREF board and has relinquished his role as treasurer.
