ATG’s Finland JV CEO Mikael Bäcke said the brand is well-known and it would be cost-effective to use existing branding and communications.
The newly established Hippos ATG JV will utilise the ATG brand when it enters the Finland gambling market in 2027.
In April, Swedish operator ATG announced it had formed a 50/50 JV with local Finnish racing association Suomen Hippos, with the new Hippos ATG to be powered by ATG’s in-house gaming platform.
On Thursday, the JV announced it would operate in Finland with the ATG brand, operating its site as ATG.fi and utilising the ATG gaming app for mobile phones, as well as featuring ATG’s existing style and design.
The move is described as a “cost-effective solution”, leveraging ATG’s existing communication assets, messaging and design.
Mikael Bäcke, CEO of the Hippos ATG JV, believes the use of such a well-known legacy brand in ATG will provide a strong platform in terms of brand awareness.
“ATG is a strong, trusted, quality brand in Sweden and already familiar to many Finnish gamblers,” Bäcke said. “That is something we want to build on as we enter the new Finnish gambling market in 2027.”
The launch of ATG Talent
Bäcke also explained up to 60% of the JV’s surplus will go directly back to supporting the horse racing sector in Finland.
Alongside its financial support for the racing sector in Finland, Hippos ATG launched a development programme aimed at individuals expected to have a bright future in the sport.
ATG Talent participants will meet a number of experts who will provide “knowledge, inspiration and support” in areas such as team-building, leadership and sports psychology.
The participants will be selected in collaboration with Suomen Hippos during the final quarter of 2025, with the first round of the development programme to be carried out over 2026.
Monopolies’ marginalisation of horse racing
Finland is preparing to open its gambling market by 2027, bringing an end to Veikkaus’ monopoly.
Until now, the state-owned operator has held exclusive rights to iGaming and online sports betting in the market but, from 2027, private operators, including Hippos ATG, will be able to compete in a liberalised market.
In August, Bäcke told iGB that Hippos ATG expects to compete as a leading brand for horse racing betting in the newly liberalised market.
He said the JV would aim to recapture the “marginalised” horse racing betting vertical in Finland.
“Today there’s a vacuum in Finnish market and it’s a great opportunity for both ATG and Suomen Hippos,” Bäcke said.
“The [JV] is based on both parties providing the most valuable assets they have to make this company competitive. That means the strong anchoring in the local market that Suomen Hippos has and the very close relationship they have with the 200,000 horse racing customers,” he added.
Hippos ATG will go live on day one of the licensed online market in Finland.
The ATG Finland JV board of directors is made up of ATG CEO Hans Lord Skarplöth and members of both ATG and the Suomen Hippos association.
