“The effect of this is markets for betting on horses are declining and the number of customers interested in horse racing is decreasing. Today there’s a vacuum in Finnish market and it’s a great opportunity for both ATG and Suomen Hippos.”
He estimates the Finnish horse racing betting market is worth up to €60 million today.
ATG first announced it had formed a 50/50 joint venture to compete in Finland’s regulated online gambling market in April. Hippos ATG brings together Suomen Hippos’ deep knowledge of the racing industry and ATG’s long-standing betting and gaming expertise.
Backe’s appointment was announced in June. He joins from ATG’s Danish Bet25 business, which he joined in 2019. Prior to that he worked across several business development roles within the core ATG business and became chief product officer in October 2016.
ATG Finland JV to be powered by ATG platform
Speaking to iGB on Wednesday, Bäcke said the Hippos ATG product will operate commercially independently from ATG but will be powered by ATG’s in-house gaming platform.
“ATG has a superior gaming platform especially when it comes to betting on horse racing, which is the core product for ATG in Sweden and it is unparalleled,” says Bäcke.
“In terms of economies of scale, it’s [more] efficient to run a centralised development and team and not build multiple small satellites around the world. It will make everything more streamlined by using AGT’s platform.”
Backe says the operator’s initial main focus will be on racing, but it will provide sports betting and online casino as complementary products.
Building the c-suite
Currently the business is a three-person strong team, including new hires Antti Koivula as chief compliance officer and Joonas Saha as chief commercial officer.
Bäcke is actively hiring for a number of roles which will be based in Helsinki.
Although it operates as a 50/50 JV between the two parties, ATG will earn a 40% share of profits while Suomen Hippos will take the remaining 60%.
“The partnership 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,” Bäcke adds.
Hippos ATG will go live on day one of the licensed online market in Finland. As regulatory processes for the legislation have largely been on time, the market is expected to launch in January 2027.
In April the Swedish government reduced some of its control over ATG meaning it could no longer nominate ATG board members. Previously it had the power to appoint six of the 11 members.
The operator is a market leader for horse racing in the Swedish market, but since gambling tax was increased to 22% of GGR in July 2024, its growth has slowed. ATG CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth has urged the government to reconsider this and bring down tax rates for betting operators.
Dingnews.com 18/08/2025