Finnish Race Wagering

Betting on horse and dog racing was first introduced in 1928. Both ontrack and offtrack betting are allowed. Harness racing (trotting) is the dominant type of racing, and there are no thoroughbred races. There are around 40 trotting racetracks throughout the country open year-round and just as many that are only open in the summer. Vermo is Finland's main track. It is located in Helsinki and hosts about 60 race events per year. There are over 3,000 offtrack betting outlets throughout Finland.

Pari-mutuel totalizator wagering was historically organized by Fintoto Oy, a subsidiary of the Finnish Trotting and Breeding Association, which introduced online race wagering in 2002. In 2017 Fintoto’s operations were merged into Veikkaus, which now runs all totalizator pools and race betting alongside its lottery and sports products.

Greyhound racing and betting have largely diminished, and race betting is now centered on trotting under the Veikkaus/Finnish Trotting and Breeding Association framework.