How Finland’s strict gambling regulation inspired KasinoBonus’ success: an interview with Matti Slotte

KasinoBonus, a project focused on aggregating the best casino bonuses and providing expert reviews recently expanded to several new regions, now covering not just Northern Europe, but also parts of Western Europe as well as Brazil. Starting in 2018, the project has grown rapidly and has become one of the leading local websites.

We’ve talked with KasinoBonus’ founder Matti Slotte about his project, the inspiration behind it, and plans for the future.

Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi, I’m Matti Slotte, I am 40, I’m Finnish, and I’m the founder of KasinoBonus. As you can tell from our name, we are a team of casino experts who gather and analyse casino bonuses and streamline all the info that players need, so that they can quickly choose the best options from trusted service providers and have a good time playing.

How did you decide to start KasinoBonus?
I’d have to preface this by saying that it’s super easy to get familiar with the industry in Finland since it’s genuinely quite a popular pastime. If I recall correctly, around 70 percent of the population gambles at least once during a year. It is usually way more than once though, and I was certainly not an exception by any means.

After I graduated, I spent a decade as a developer in an online casino, while also playing poker and slots myself. From the very first few months of work, I had the idea for something like KasinoBonus, but it brewed for a long time in my head before I had the courage to even mention it to anyone.

I got super familiar with the industry and knew pretty early that there was no point in trying to make another casino, for example. There are more than enough already, and new websites appear every day — it’s way too crowded, and it’s extremely difficult to offer something truly unique.

However, what most players need is expertise and analysis, and you will have a hard time finding a trustworthy, comprehensive, and user-friendly resource in the market. So, in 2018 we launched KasinoBonus aiming to fill this niche. I think this idea has a lot to do with me operating within Finland and speaking with local players and business owners because the country’s unique approach can open your eyes to some things.

What’s so special about Finland’s casinos?
For those who aren’t familiar with Finland’s gambling regulations, here’s a summary: right now we have one and only Veikkaus — a government-owned company that has a monopoly on all forms of gambling in the country. Almost all of its profits are redistributed to the Ministry of Education and Culture or the Ministry of Social Affairs so that Finns get better education, arts, social welfare, and so on.

The thing is, offshore casinos exist, and they make the gambling situation a lot more complicated than some would want it to be. Funnily enough, even the CEO of Veikkaus noted that they really only control around 40% of the market, while 60% of Finnish players flock away to online casinos. Now the government has promised to switch to licensing in 2026, so we’re approaching a colossal change.

Over the years I’ve heard lots of different opinions on the matter. Some think that Finland has invented the best solution to all ethical issues with gambling, and it should stay this way. Others say that there is no such thing as a good monopoly, and the country should introduce some form of licensing to create competition to promote business and boost the quality of services.

Which side do you agree with?
Well, let me put it this way: I think that the initial idea of Veikkaus may seem noble, but it has its issues, and in any case, it simply doesn’t work in the age of the internet. At the same time, I am glad that I was born in Finland because I’ve had this unique perspective. It helped me realize something that may not be as obvious to people from countries with an abundance of casinos and no government monopoly.

Here’s the thing: having multiple casino options is great in theory, but it can also be a bit of a nightmare from a player’s standpoint. It simply leads to choice overload: when you have 20-30 casinos offering their services, each with their own bonuses, Terms and Conditions, and background, you freeze in place and can’t choose anything. The fact that offshore casinos operate on different terms than you might be used to and that it’s pretty difficult to hold them accountable, shows how stressful this becomes.

So, at this point, you either pick a random one and hope for the best, or you’ll have to open a few dozen tabs in a browser and spend your whole evening comparing numbers instead of actually playing. Both options suck for consumers, so there needs to be a solution.

What we do in KasinoBonus is simplify this process and make it way more streamlined, just like it feels when you decide to play in official Finland casinos that you trust. We provide a list of trusted websites and briefly tell you all you need to know about each one, including their available bonuses. Stay for a few minutes, and you’ll know everything you need to make an informed decision.

We first started in Finland, especially because I saw this confusion and general lack of proper information about locally available offshore casino websites. However, now we cover eight countries, although, admittedly, it took us some time to gather and analyse all the necessary data, as well as to translate it into local languages.

Do you aim for a global reach, or will you stick with a few selected regions?
Well, it would be a bit unreasonable to say that we aim to be the number one casino bonus aggregator in the world and cover everything, but it also wouldn’t be that far off from reality.

We’re quite ambitious, and we have a lot of experience to offer. Shortly speaking, we want to expand in the near future, but right now we’re focused on providing the best possible service for several selected regions: Northern and Western Europe and Brazil. When we’re ready, we will grow our team and go further.

You’ve got a successful project in a very competitive industry. What would you recommend to someone looking to enter it?

I usually try to avoid giving out any recommendations, because most of the time they don’t end up being helpful. They also kind of make you look a bit conceited. The thing is, everyone has a unique road, and the best I can recommend is using what you have and what you know best to gain an advantage.

You will be surprised by how some of the most common and simple things you thought were widespread knowledge are, in fact, not. You will also be surprised by how some of your skills and expertise that you think of as average or worse can be highly valued in the right circumstances. The key is to put yourself in these circumstances.

Sorry if that’s a bit of a foggy answer, but that’s how all advice usually goes — way too generalized. Hope that it will be at least somewhat helpful!