Finland fines streamer for offshore casino promotion

• North Savo District Court convicted Jouko “Pottukoira” Kärkkäinen on 18 June for a gambling offence under Finland’s Lotteries Act.
• The streamer faces a €2,480 fine and €80 victim surcharge for promoting casino bonuses on Kick, Instagram and his personal website between May 2023 and February 2024.
• The court ruled that an offence can be established without proof of the defendant receiving payment or financial benefits from the promotion.

Finland’s North Savo District Court convicted content creator Jouko “Pottukoira” Kärkkäinen on 18 June for marketing offshore casino operators to domestic audiences.

The ruling is one of the country’s most prominent enforcement actions against influencer gambling promotion.

Kärkkäinen, 44, must pay 80 day-fines totalling €2,480, payable within 80 days, plus an €80 victim surcharge. The conviction relates to a gambling offence under the Lotteries Act. It covers promotional activity on his Kick and Instagram accounts and personal website between May 2023 and February 2024.

Commercial intent found

The court found that Kärkkäinen repeatedly used Finnish-language content to market offshore casino operators. Posts such as “150 free spins for just €10” appeared alongside links to pottukoira.com, a website carrying affiliate links to the casinos in question.

Kärkkäinen denied the charge. He argued his content was entertainment rather than commercial marketing and was not aimed at Finnish audiences. He said he had no control over the pottukoira.com domain and had been based in Tallinn, Estonia, for part of the relevant period.

The court rejected each argument in turn. It found it immaterial who operated the website. Kärkkäinen had allowed the site’s affiliate links to appear across his own channels and had added some promotions through a chatbot tool.

Adelina Komulainen, presiding judge at the North Savo District Court, said:

“Punishing a gambling offence does not require that the defendant be shown to have received consideration or financial benefit from the act.”

Judge Komulainen added:

“Kärkkäinen’s purpose must be regarded as having been to promote the gambling companies’ business operations.”

The criminal conviction follows an earlier enforcement action by the Finnish National Police Board, which imposed a conditional fine on Kärkkäinen in 2024, later upheld on appeal. He subsequently relocated to Estonia and continued working with foreign operators. He has until 20 July to appeal the latest verdict.

Market opens in 2027

The ruling arrives at a crossroad moment for Finland. President Alexander Stubb approved the country’s gambling reform in January 2026, replacing the long-standing Veikkaus state monopoly with a competitive licensing regime.

Licence applications opened in March 2026, and more than 50 operators have since submitted bids, the majority of them foreign companies.

The regulated market is scheduled to launch on 1 July 2027. The National Police Board continues to enforce the ban on marketing non-Veikkaus operators to Finnish audiences in the interim. That prohibition applies regardless of where the content creator or operator is based.

Similar enforcement actions are playing out elsewhere in Europe. Germany’s gaming authority, the GGL, fined rapper Capital Bra €250,000 in April 2026 for promoting unlicensed operators across social media and livestreams.

Content creators and affiliates targeting Finnish audiences now face defined legal risk. The ruling reinforces that producing Finnish-language casino marketing can attract criminal liability, regardless of whether compensation was received.