Launching the newest online casino in the UK

Comparasino sits down with Christoffer Gronlund, Co-founder of Winlandia, to learn more about why the online casino chose to launch to players in the UK and how it’s going 

Players love new online casinos but in recent months, there’s been very little activity when it comes to new brands launching. Back in October last year, Winlandia changed all that, bringing its Nordic spirit to the UK for the first time.

The casino is powered by SkillOnNet, the same platform used by PlayOJO, so you just know it’s going to offer a top-notch experience. And that it does, combining a generous bonus with a great selection of payment methods and a lobby packed with 5,800 games.

But being the newest online casino doesn’t come without its challenges so to learn more, we spoke to Winlandia Co-founder Christoffer Gronlund to learn more.

Winlandia has just hit the UK having established itself in Nordic markets such as Finland and Sweden. What made you launch your casino brand to players here?

Demand for new online casinos is always high in the UK, and we saw a great opportunity to meet this demand by launching Winlandia to players for the first time. There’s been a shortage of new casinos and this has led to player disappointment. Winlandia is here to save the day, offering a thrilling online casino and slot experience that captures our Nordic heritage and allows players to experience the power of Finnish Sisu while firing up the reels on more than 5,800 slot games. You’re absolutely right in that we cut our teeth in Finland as Finlandia Casino, but towards the end of last year undertook a rebrand to Winlandia so that we could launch to players in other markets such as the UK with a fully localised offering.

Can players feel your Nordic heritage when they join Winlandia? What can they expect in terms of bonuses, games and payments?

Absolutely. We are proud of our Nordic heritage and want players at Winlandia to be able to experience it for themselves. This has seen us add Nordic slot studios to our game lobby, and we also offer Nordic payment methods such as Trustly. We’ve also made sure that Winlandia offers the experience that UK players are seeking. This starts with our welcome bonus which consists of a deposit match and free spins, one of the most popular welcome package combos. We’ve also ensured that our cashier has a great selection of payment methods, including debit cards, PayPal and Apple Pay, with instant deposits and fast payouts. Our game lobby is where we really stand out – we have more than 5,800 slots, table games, Slingo, bingo, crash, instant win and live dealer titles including plenty of exclusives. Another USP is jackpot slots – we stock more than 150 in total.

There’s been a real slowdown of new casinos launching in the UK in recent years. Why is that? And what opportunity have you spotted that others have missed?

There has been a lot of uncertainty around the regulations that casino operators have to adhere to. Last year, the government published a white paper that put forward potential changes to regulations, with consulations on these changes on-going. Many operators wanted to hold back until the white paper was published so they would shave a better idea of what requirements they would be expected to meet around areas such as the bonuses offered, affordability and player monitoring. This has been exacerbated by the economic challenges the UK – and other countries – are currently facing. But for us, the white paper has given us the confidence we needed to flick the switch in the UK at a time when we know demand for a new online casino is incredibly high. This is an opportunity for Winlandia to come in and provide the new casino experience players are seeking.

You’ve been live in the UK for a few months now. How’s it going?

It’s going really well. It takes time for players to become aware of a new online casino and we are working with some great partners such as Comparasino to do this. We have seen a nice stream of UK players coming through and many are sticking around as they further explore Winlandia and what it has to offer. Our tournaments are super popular, as are our daily picks rewards. We are only just fiding our feet in the UK and have big plans to ramp up our offering over the next 12 months as we go from new kid on the block to power player.

Different players like different things. With Winlandia, how have you ensured it hits the mark for all player preferences?

By providing choice. We know that different players look for different things, and that’s why we offer so many different ways for players to experience Winlandia from the payment methods they use to deposit and withdraw to the games they play. We appeal to casual players as much as we do high rollers, even though what they are looking for differs greatly. For casual players, we have a vast portfolio of low-limit slots and free-to-enter tournaments, while for VIPs we have high-limit live dealer tables and an invite-only VIP club. It can be tough being all things to all people, but we have tried incredibly hard to meet all player preferences and it’s something I think we have done well.

Give one reason why players join Winlandia if they haven’t already.

Because we are the newest online casino and the only one that allows players to experience Sisu while spinning their favourite slots.