OUR TEAM
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MORTEN RONDE
MANAGING PARTNER
Morten Ronde is a Danish-licensed attorney at law. He has more than 20 years of experience working in the industry in various roles.
During his career, he has worked as a regulator for the Danish Gambling Authority, as a legal counsel to gambling operators and game software suppliers in the Nordics, and with Public Affairs as the head of the trade group for the Danish online gambling operators “Spillebranchen” (en: “Danish Online Gambling Association”).
While working as a regulator, he drafted the Danish online gambling reform that allowed for open licensing of betting and online casino operators in Denmark. The Danish gambling model is still considered one of the best gambling regimes globally and has inspired many countries to adopt similar regulations.
While working with gambling operators and suppliers in the Nordic region, Morten frequently consults with European Governments about good practices for gambling regulation.
Morten is based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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MARIA McDONALD
SENIOR LEGAL ADVISOR
Maria McDonald is a Swedish Senior Legal advisor at Nordic Legal. With extensive experience as in-house counsel with international operators. Maria is specialized in all legal matters related to gambling, media and sponsorships but also has extensive experience of working with dispute resolution, IT and data protection.
Maria has during the majority of her career worked as in-house legal counsel and as the Head of Legal in Unibet and in Lagardère Sports. Maria has also previously acted as Chairman of the Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA) and treasurer of the Swedish Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS).
Maria is also the author of the chapter about Sweden in the publication "Gambling Laws and Regulations Sweden 2026"
You can read that chapter here.
Maria is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
PEKKA ILMIVALTA
HEAD OF FINNISH OFFICE
Pekka Ilmivalta has a long history and an extensive experience in the Finnish gaming/gambling legislation, having worked as the General Counsel and an executive board member of the Finnish national gaming company, Veikkaus, for 17 years. During this time, besides legal matters, his responsibilities included HR matters, CSR, and communication.
Beyond his legal expertise, Pekka has been deeply involved in Finnish sports, especially ice hockey and floorball, and has worked on ethical issues within sports. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of the Finnish Floorball Association. Additionally, he is a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
With his deep understanding of Finnish gambling regulations and governance, Pekka remains engaged in the changing market environment, offering his insights and expertise to help clients stay on top of industry developments and prepare for entry into the upcoming regulated Finnish gambling market.
Pekka is based in Helsinki, Finland.
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KARL-OSKAR HOKKANEN
LAWYER
Karl-Oskar Hokkanen is a lawyer at Nordic Legal. Karl-Oskar joined Nordic Legal in 2023.
He holds a LLM from Uppsala University and has also studied at the University of Leeds.
Before joining Nordic Gambling he completed an internship at Uppsala District Court.
Karl-Oskar is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
tel: +46739047999
Rikhard is an associate at the Helsinki office of Nordic Legal.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Åbo Akademi University (2021) and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Helsinki (2024).
Rikhard joined Nordic Legal in 2025 and has previous work experience at Stora Enso, the Merger Control Unit of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority, as well as at both a major Finnish law firm and an international law firm, where he focused on competition and regulatory matters.
He has further deepened his sector-specific regulatory expertise through participation in book projects on the Finnish alcohol and gambling markets. Rikhard is fluent in English, Swedish, and Finnish.
RIKHARD HALMESMÄKI
ASSOCIATE
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