Ladbrokes bit the Finnish dust again when it heard Tuesday the verdict of the Supreme Administrative Court (KHO) in Helsinki.
Finland has a gambling monopoly, and the state-owned national lottery and gaming company, Veikkaus Ab, holds the only license.
According to the 2002 Act on Gaming, only one such license can be in effect at any one time.
In 2003, Ladbrokes' first attempt to secure licensure was rejected by the Ministry of the Interior, even after the U.K. bookmaker contended that the country's monopoly contravened EU rules governing the free movement of services.
In 2005, a second application was rejected. Now, KHO has responded to the appeal against the 2005 decision.
“We are not surprised by the ruling," said Ladbrokes' PR director Ciaran O'Brien. "But we will reiterate our concerns to the EU, particularly as the ruling itself seemed contradictory in criticizing the monopoly's behavior, but defending its status.”
Finnish Daily Helsingin Sanomat reported that the KHO held that the country's gaming monopoly falls in-line with both EU legislation and rulings from the European Court of Justice.
Veikkaus is a Finnish lottery for Finnish players, and each day produces over 1 million euro of lottery revenue.
Finland is the latest in a string of closed-market projects for Ladbrokes. Similar efforts in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark were likewise unsuccessful.