Estonia Online Casino Guide

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Legal casino gambling age in Estonia

Gambling Industry Overview in Estonia

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Gambling legislation in Estonia
Gambling authorities in Estonia
Online casinos in Estonia
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Flag of Estonia Gambling has been legal in Estonia since 1994 and although the country's population is not very large, about 1.3 million, the activity is a favorite pastime of its citizens. According to a survey, no less than 80 percent of the country's adult population have gambled at least once in their life.

According to the Republic of Estonia Tax and Customs Board, as of July 2020, there were 20 operators with gambling licenses in Estonia, including 16 online, 14 sports betting, 3 casino, 1 ship, and 1 “games of skill.”

The country's online casino industry is also slowly gaining momentum, as regulation was imposed in early 2010. Since that time, the northern European country has become increasingly open to online gambling by both domestic and international operators.

The global financial crisis in 2008, significantly decreased the country's gross domestic product both in 2008 and significantly more in 2009. The declines were the third deepest in the EU. After the banking crisis, the Estonian government put its efforts into reviving the economy, and local players were provided the opportunity to play online at licensed websites since the 2009 Gambling Act also regulates the online gambling market.

Both the financial crisis and the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020 have been detrimental to Estonia's casino market. In mid-2020, there were 54 licensed casinos in the country, 3 less than there were in 2016.

Olympic Entertainment Group (OEG) is the country's largest casino operator, responsible for approximately 40 percent of the casinos. The company opened numerous casinos in Estonia soon after it was founded in 1993 and as of 2020, does business in 6 countries. The Group boasts the largest casino in the country, Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn, which serves as its flagship casino along with a Hilton hotel. In 2016, OEG acquired Estonian casino operator AS MC Kasiinod, increasing its market share in the country's gambling sector to 24 casinos.

Considered a game of chance, Bingo is also legal in Estonia, however, it doesn't enjoy the widespread popularity that poker does. You won't find bingo in any of the large casinos in the country either but the state-owned Eesti Loto offers Lottery games such as instant games, Keno, Eurojackpot, Vikinglotto, and Bingo Loto, for which there is a TV program that shows the results of the bingo lottery live every week. Eesti Loto was established in 1991 and as of mid-2020 remains the country's sole lottery operator.

Sports Betting is also legal in the European country and has its own distinct category within the gambling law. It was unregulated before 2008 and bookmakers operated without licenses, freely. The majority of Estonia's betting shops are operated by Spordiennustus A/S, which is a joint venture between the Estonian Olympic Committee and Pafer A/S, part of the Paf group, and licensed to operate fixed-odds sports betting.

Horse Racing is also legal in Estonia and has been hosted at the Tallinna Hipodroom since the 1920s. Horse racing betting is run by the operator AS Totalisaator.

Overview

Formerly part of the Soviet Union, the country situated in Northern Europe along the Baltic Sea regained its independence in 1991. Estonia became a member of NATO in March 2004 and joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.

All gambling was prohibited in the USSR, however, illicit forms were still prevalent as the activity was conducted underground until legalization in 1994 when the national lottery was established.

After leaving the Soviet Union in August 1991 and the Republic of Estonia was restored, the country was eager to attract business. This is one of the major reasons why soon after, gambling was legalized and a number of licenses were issued to several companies.

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The 1994 Lottery Act and the 1995 Gambling Act regulated the industry and helped to facilitate its growth. It was during this time that the Olympic Entertainment Group emerged as a regional player, rapidly expanding its operations to neighboring Baltic states, Lithuania and Latvia in 2001 and 2002, and the Eastern European countries Ukraine and Belarus in 2004 and 2005, respectively.

The country's current gambling regulation is the 2009 Gambling Act.

Relevant Legislation and Legal Framework

Gambling Legislation in Estonia The gaming market in Estonia is currently under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance and the Customs Chamber. Today, the issue of activity licenses and operating permits for gambling and lotteries is the responsibility of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, which is an agency of the Ministry of Finance.

As a member of the European Union since 2004, Estonia is bound by EU law. Only players over 21 years of age are permitted access to casinos, while the legal age for lottery play in the country is 16.

Players may be self-excluded from casinos for a period between six months or three years at their own request.

As mentioned, the Gambling Act of 2009 thoroughly modernized Estonia's gambling regulation. The Act was introduced to more effectively regulate and control an industry that had grown into a large number of widely-dispersed small slot or gambling halls. The prevalence and location of these establishments are what the government wished to address through new legislation. And to decrease the demand for gambling by consolidating the industry by raising the number of machines (8) permitted under the Law on Gambling 1995 and giving more power to local authorities to control where gambling location could be placed.

Since 2010, both casinos and slots halls are required to have a minimum of 40 slot machines and/or 5 tables, because the new regulation no longer makes a legal distinction between the two. As a result, many of these establishments either closed or upgraded, which was the aim of the new gambling regulation.

The legislative update also gave Estonia the opportunity to regulate types of gaming that had previously been unregulated, such as online gambling. Poker tournaments and similar gambling tournaments were activities that were also regulated and licensed for the first time courtesy of the new Act. Poker is the most popular type of card game in the country.

Estonia's previous gambling framework [1995]

listed five broad categories of gambling, including games of skill, games of chance, totalisators, betting games, and lotteries. In addition to the aforementioned, the Gambling Act of 2009 creates subcategories of gambling.

Under the Gambling Act, organizers of all forms of gambling, both land-based and online, are required to hold an activity license and an operating permit/license to organize gambling. The activity license is non-transferable and is valid for an unspecified term, while an operating permit is valid for 20 years for most forms of gambling, save online gambling (5 years, and instant lotteries (3 years). Additionally, municipal governments were given the power to consent to the location of a proposed gambling location.

As mentioned, the 2009 Gambling Act was introduced to both control and consolidate the industry, and to increase revenues. The new regulation not only imposed stricter rules on regular land-based gaming operations; it also paved the way for online gambling.

The decision to grant or deny an activity license or operating permit for both casinos and lotteries is made by the Tax and Customs Board. Also mentioned previously, as a member of the European Union, Estonia is bound by EU law. However, the country maintains the right to require casino and gambling operators licenses in other countries to meet the same conditions as those that are unlicensed.

Licensing Procedure

Every casino and gambling operator wishing to operate on the territory of Estonia is required to obtain two licenses; an activity license to comply with the Estonian Gambling Act and an online gambling license from the Estonian Tax & Customs Board. As mentioned, this rule applies to all individuals and companies, regardless if they are located in the EU or not.

Both joint-stock entities and private companies are permitted to apply for a license, as long as they meet several requirements. In addition to a share capital requirement of €1m, casino operators need to pay fees of EEK750,000 for a review of an activity license and EEK50,000 for a review of an operating permit.

As mentioned above, both land-based and online, are required to hold an activity license and an operating permit/license to organize gambling.

Activity license:

Entitles a person to apply for an operating permit for the purpose of organizing an online gambling business and certifies that the applicant is a reliable person compliant with the requirements of the Gambling Act. It is non-transferable and is valid for an unspecified term. A separate activity license is required for organizing games of chance, organizing pari-mutuel betting, and organizing games of skill. The Tax and Customs Board decides on the issuance or denial and invalidation of activity licenses.

Operating permit:

A separate operating permit is required for each type of gambling activity being organized. Each permit is valid for 20 years for most forms of gambling, with the exception of online gambling (5 years) and instant lotteries (3 years). Also, municipal governments have the power to consent to the location of a proposed gambling center.

In addition, the operator applying is required to pay a license fee, which is estimated to €47,934 in order to be granted the opportunity to organize games of chance. The licensing fee for organizing games of skill amounts to €31,95 per table, and the fee for the organization of a totalisator is €3,196. Gambling tax in Estonia is 18 percent for the lottery and 5 percent for sports betting and online gambling.

Online Gambling

Internet Gambling in Estonia Online gambling has been legalized and regulated in Estonia since 2010 for local operators, and since January 2011 for foreign companies, conditional upon securing a license from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

Prior to the new gambling act, online gambling activities were undefined and unregulated.

Since that time, several online gambling licenses have been issued including the very first, Olympic Casino's online platform, OlyBet, in cooperation with Playtech software.

Liberalized in 2010 along with other forms of online gambling, sports betting is also legal in Estonia, and since 2014, Spordiennustus has been operating a virtual book. Locals are able to wager on any licensed online sports betting site.

In addition to legalizing the market, the country also started blocking unlicensed gambling sites attempting to offer their services to citizens.

As of 2011, sports betting and online gambling operators are required to pay a low 5 percent tax. That, in addition to the low tax, 20-year license, entry to the EU market, and remote operation, is among the benefits of operating an online gambling site(s) in Estonia.

As noted, according to the Republic of Estonia Tax and Customs Board, as of July 2020, there were 20 operators with gambling licenses in Estonia, including 16 online:

Operator / IMG Kasiinod OÜ Brand / Casino GrandPrix
OÜ Novoloto / Fenikiss
Olympic Entertainment Group AS / Olympic Casino & OlyBet
Osaühing Tonybet / Tonybet
REEL Estonia Limited / Pokerstar
Aktsiaselts PAFER / Paf
Triogames OÜ / Betsafe
KingsWin Online OÜ / Kingswin
LEXBYTE DIGITAL LIMITED / Unibet
Optiwin OÜ / Optiwin
Dreambox Games OÜ / Chanz
StayCool OÜ / Coolbet
Kopikas Entertainment OÜ /
Hillside (New Media Malta) PLC / Bet365
SafeEnt Limited / NinjaCasino & BoostCasino
Play North OÜ / Kirsikka & Kiirkasiino

As of June 2020, there were 1,631 blocked, illegal remote gambling sites in Estonia (pdf), according to the Republic of Estonia Tax and Customs Board.

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Estonia Online Casino Guide

Gambling Industry Overview in Estonia

The following approaches will be presented

Overview

Top Rated Online Casinos for Estonia

Relevant Legislation and Legal Framework

Licensing Procedure

Online Gambling

Online Casinos that Welcome Estonians

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