On 4 March 2024, GameArt announced that its slots were live at Paf in Finland, Estonia and Spain.
The press release named no titles. On 10 November 2026, Paf's Spanish site listed 22 of them.
The Paf announcement was the second in a series of nine distribution deals that GameArt made public between 28 February and 21 May 2024.
Founded in Åland on 31 October 1966, Paf has paid out €527.9 million for the benefit of society since its creation.
Since February 2026, Paf's mandatory loss limit has stood at €15,000 a year from age 25, €6,000 between 20 and 24, and €1,800 at 18 and 19.
On 29 June 2026, Paf announced its intention to apply for a Finnish licence for the market that opens on 1 July 2027. Its name is not among the first 18 licence holders, published in late October 2026.
In Spain, the DGOJ licences first obtained in June 2012 have belonged to Paf Games since 24 March 2026.
In Sweden, Paf International holds online gaming and betting licences until 2 May 2030, yet GameArt does not appear in the Swedish register.
From 1 July 2028, operators licensed in Finland will only be able to offer games from suppliers holding a software licence.
Two quotes, a profile of each company and not a single game name: GameArt's announcement of its arrival at Paf fitted into a few lines. So I went back over the Paf Casino deal from the other end for Kynox Casino, using the operator's Spanish lobby, three official registers and Paf's own statements. Those documents tell a story the press release left out. Paf has capped every customer's losses since 2018, and the way it does so deserves a closer look.
What did the GameArt and Paf announcement of 4 March 2024 say?
GameArt cast its announcement of 4 March 2024 in the same mould as all its distribution deals: a headline, two quotes and a profile of each partner. The text published by the Maltese provider describes Paf as a Nordic gaming company founded in Åland in 1966. It then states that the provider's slots are live in all three countries, without further detail. Paf also earns the label of “award-winning industry leader in responsible gaming”, which I test further down against its figures and its awards.
Two voices sign the announcement. Eric Castro praises a provider known for its slots. He was then Head of Content, Casino & Games at Paf. At GameArt, Account Manager Yauheni Charniuk talks about gaming experiences on a global scale. The footer recalls the B2B licence issued by the Malta Gaming Authority on 6 February 2023 under number MGA/B2B/966/2022. I cover that licence, the game portfolio and GameArt's markets in the provider's full profile on Kynox Casino. Paf's own profile, at the end of the text, highlights its exclusive games and more than 30 cruise ships.
What the press release leaves out
GameArt's press release of 4 March 2024 leaves five questions unanswered:
Titles: no game is named, either in the text or in the quotes.
Volume: the number of slots integrated appears nowhere.
Timing: there is no launch date per country, although the text speaks of games already live.
Integration: nothing says whether the games run through a direct integration or an aggregator.
Markets: Sweden, where Paf is licensed, is not part of the deal.
The GameArt provider page on paf.es, Paf's Spanish site, fills part of the gap. On 10 November 2026, I counted 22 GameArt slots there with no account and no deposit: Nefertiti's Nile, 40 Super Heated Sevens, 20 Hot Fruit Delights, Dynamite Fruits, Xtreme Hot, Piggy Bjorn Muspelheim's Treasure, Dolphin's Dream, Lucky Fruits & Diamonds, Wild Marmalade, Diamond Magic Deluxe, Rosh Immortality Cube Megaways, Magic Unicorn, Atlantis World, Money Farm 2, Cleopatra Jewels, Kitty Twins, Caligula, African Sunset, Tiger Heart, Mariachi Fiesta, Awesome 7s and Texas Rangers Reward. Classic fruit and sevens games sit alongside Egyptian, Norse and animal themes.
The register of Spelinspektionen, the Swedish regulator, shows Paf International's gaming and betting licences running until 2 May 2030. GameArt is not in it, even though Swedish law requires a permit from any games supplier working with a licensed operator. In my view, that is the simplest explanation for Sweden's absence. It also foreshadows the lock that Finland will put in place in 2028.
This gap between the announcement and the game portfolio is no sign of bad faith. I see it in most of the press releases I go through for my iGaming news watch on this blog. A distribution deal gets verified in the lobby, which is where I go to check it.
Paf: who is the gaming operator from Åland?
Ålands Penningautomatförening was founded on 31 October 1966 in the autonomous Åland Islands, which belong to Finland. Everyone shortens it to Paf. Its founders were the health association Folkhälsan, the local branches of the Finnish Red Cross and Save the Children, and the Dagens Barn foundation. The first licensed games started on 1 January 1967, with two part-time employees and 51 machines. In 1973, Paf won the exclusive right to run games on board ferries registered in Åland. For a quarter of a century, the ferry decks kept the till ringing: around 95% of profits from 1974 to 1999, according to Paf's official profile. On 3 December 1999, Paf opened one of the very first online gaming sites in the world.
Sixty years on, the 51 machines of 1967 have given way to a group of around 300 employees from 27 countries. That figure comes from the same profile, consulted on 10 November 2026. Its offices stretch from Mariehamn to Madrid, via Helsinki, Stockholm, Norrköping, Oslo, Tallinn and Riga. Another one sits in Gzira, on Malta, where GameArt has its headquarters.
Paf describes itself as “licensed and controlled by the Government of Åland”. Its profits stay earmarked for society, and the counter has just passed the half-billion mark. According to the results published on 22 May 2026, Paf has distributed €527.9 million since its creation, including €55.5 million for 2025. Its 2025 revenue reached €214.5 million, up 12%, for a profit of €57.2 million.
This model is reminiscent of another GameArt partner I follow on this blog. The municipal casino of Venice also belongs to a public body, since the City is its sole shareholder. I like these structures for their transparency: the money lost funds public-interest work, and you can trace where it goes in an annual report. They do not make gambling any less risky for the person placing the bet.
Is Paf Casino available in every country?
No: as of 10 November 2026, Paf works under its home licence from the Government of Åland and holds online licences in Sweden, Estonia and Spain. Its technology also reaches Swiss players through mycasino.ch, a partnership covered below. Kynox Casino's filters are geolocated, so they only show the online casinos licensed where you connect. Paf's loss limit is the part of this story that speaks to players everywhere.
Why does Paf's loss limit stand out?
Since 2018, Paf has imposed a yearly loss limit on every customer across its online games. It claims to have been the first international gaming group to set such a cap. Its responsible gaming page highlights the Safer Gambling Operator award it received at the EGR Nordics Awards 2023. The industry, by Paf's own account, has long relied on limits that players choose for themselves.
A loss limit halved since 2018
Between 2018 and 2026, Paf cut its general cap by half and added lower thresholds for under-25s:
2018: €30,000 a year, mandatory for all customers.
1 January 2020: €25,000, or just over €2,000 a month according to Paf.
2025: €16,000 after several cuts, and €6,000 for ages 20 to 24.
February 2026: €15,000, half the 2018 level.
Ages 18 and 19: €1,800 a year, the lowest threshold in the group.
The same results of 22 May 2026 include a figure that regulators will notice: revenue from customers who lose less than €8,000 a year grew by 17.5% in 2025. Over the same period, the red segment of the heaviest losers fell to zero. Paf sees it as the direct effect of its caps.
Imposed cap or self-set limit: two approaches
Paf's case for an imposed cap rests on research from Stockholm University. In its announcement of 3 October 2019, CEO Christer Fahlstedt said those results showed that voluntary limits had no effect. The same text promised that no customer should be able to lose their home.
Point of comparison
Paf's mandatory cap
Voluntary limit set by the player
Who sets the amount
Paf, for every customer
The player
Maximum
€15,000 a year once a player turns 25
Whatever the player chooses
Under-25s
€6,000 (ages 20 to 24) and €1,800 (ages 18 and 19)
No ceiling linked to age
Effect according to Paf
Red segment down to zero in 2025
None, according to the research Paf cited in 2019
Both approaches have a blind spot. An imposed cap of €15,000 still leaves room for €1,250 of losses every month, enough to wreck a modest salary. A personal limit is only as good as the clear head of whoever sets it, and the study Paf cites casts doubt on exactly that. My reading works on two levels: the operator's cap stops the extreme blow-outs, while the limit you set yourself protects your day-to-day budget. Paf also lets its customers set their own tools below its ceiling. To stay in control, the limit that counts is the one you set before you play, well below any cap.
What role does Paf play for mycasino.ch in Switzerland?
In Switzerland, Paf is the technology and know-how partner of mycasino.ch, the online casino run by Grand Casino Luzern. On 5 October 2026, the Åland operator described this platform as the leader of the licensed Swiss market, with more than €100 million in annual revenue. In the same release, it announced a pilot project with Meta against advertising by unlicensed operators, limited to Switzerland for now. Paf is to share with Meta the licence documents and web addresses of authorised operators and affiliates.
Switzerland remains open to GameArt games. In July 2023, the online casino in Meyrin put fifteen of the provider's titles live in the canton of Geneva. A reader connecting from Switzerland will only find online casinos licensed in the country in Kynox's filters.
Which licences does Paf hold in the three markets of the deal?
As of November 2026, Paf covers the three markets of the deal with authorisations issued in Mariehamn, Tallinn and Madrid. The table below sums up what the registers and authorities show.
Market
Authority
Paf group company
What the registers show
Finland
Government of Åland, National Police Board (Poliisihallitus) for the future Finnish licence
Ålands Penningautomatförening
Intention to apply announced on 29 June 2026, name absent from the October 2026 list
Estonia
Tax and Customs Board (Maksu- ja Tolliamet, EMTA)
Aktsiaselts PAFER
Online games of chance, totalisator betting, games of skill and gaming on board ships
Spain
Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ)
Paf Games
General licences since 1 June 2012, transferred on 24 March 2026
In Estonia, gambling licences are issued by the Tax and Customs Board (EMTA). Its list of legal operators, updated on 30 October 2026, names Aktsiaselts PAFER in four categories. The company declares paf.ee, X3000.ee and speedybet.ee for online games of chance, a category with 44 licensed operators.
Finland: a licence still to be applied for
In mainland Finland, Veikkaus keeps its gambling monopoly until 30 June 2027, while Paf operates under the authorisation of the Government of Åland. According to Finnish law firm Borenius, Gambling Act No. 10/2026 opens this market to licensed operators on 1 July 2027.
Paf wants in. In a statement signed on 29 June 2026 by CEO Christer Fahlstedt, the Åland operator says it intends to seek a licence in Finland. Paf adds that the applicable rules still need to be clarified.
At the end of October 2026, Finland's National Police Board (Poliisihallitus) announced its first 18 licences, out of 81 applications received. Valid from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2032, they went to companies whose full list SiGMA has published. None of them bears Paf's name, and 63 applications were still under review, with processing estimated at six to eight months.
For GameArt, the key date comes a year later. From 1 July 2028, a licensed operator will only be able to use games from suppliers holding a gaming software licence, granted for up to five years and renewable. Providers can apply for it from 1 July 2027. If Paf secures its licence and wants to keep GameArt slots for its Finnish players, the provider will have to take that step in turn.
Spain: four sites under one licence
In Spain, Paf has operated the general licences Apuestas and Otros Juegos (betting and other games) of the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) since 1 June 2012. Their holder has changed three times. The licences moved from Paf-Consulting to Paf International ABP in 2022, then to Paf International PLC after a cross-border merger in 2023, before passing to Paf Games on 24 March 2026. The DGOJ register entry for Paf Games dates the singular licence for slot machines (Máquinas de azar) to 2 June 2015, with an extension on 6 February 2025. A second technical approval followed on 21 August 2025. Without that licence, no GameArt title would run on paf.es. As of 10 November 2026, the same entry links four sites to the company: paf.es, speedybet.es, pinatacasino.es and goldenbull.es.
GameArt did not wait for Paf to set foot in Spain. When the deal came, the provider already had the sixteen slots launched in August 2022 at PASTÓN. Three of the six titles highlighted at that launch still feature in Paf's lobby in November 2026: Tiger Heart, Money Farm 2 and African Sunset.
GameArt has been certified in Spain since 2019. Paf is only one square on the map of its local partners, but one of the best documented. The provider's arrival at Solcasino in May 2026 extends GameArt's Spanish timeline, which I trace in the article on that brand, from the 2019 certification to this latest deal.
FAQs:
What does Paf stand for?
It is short for Ålands Penningautomatförening, which translates from Swedish as “Åland slot machine association”. Swedish is the official language of the islands.
Is Paf Casino trustworthy?
Its licences can be checked in public registers in Spain, Estonia and Sweden. The Government of Åland, which issues its home licence, also oversees its activity.
Does Paf Casino offer sports betting?
Yes. In Spain, its DGOJ licences cover sports betting, roulette, blackjack and slot machines.
Does Paf still run games on ships?
Yes. According to its official profile, slot machines, gaming tables and arcade games operate on cruise ships in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
Is Paf a state-owned operator?
Not quite. Paf is a public-law association that operates under the licence and supervision of the Government of Åland, and its profits go to the benefit of society.
