Estonian Tax and Customs Board

The Estonian Tax and Customs Board regulates and issues licenses for gambling in Estonia. Currently, the country is attractive for companies wishing to organize gambling. This is due to the low taxes and loyal requirements of operators.

Regulator licensed casinos

In the section "Seaduslike hasartmängukorraldajate nimekiri" on the official website of the department, you can see a complete list of online casinos and land-based operators with a gaming license in Estonia. The list of online casinos includes TonyBet, Paf, Unibet, Bet365, and others.

Estonian Tax and Customs Board review

The legalization and control of gambling in Estonia began in 1995, with the adoption of the "Gambling Act" and the "Lottery Act". It gave a clear definition of "gambling" which were specified requirements for companies wishing to engage in gambling.

In 2009, the legislation was amended, primarily due to the fact that the existing law did not correspond to modern realities and did not apply to the regulation of online gambling. In fact, the new law (RT I 2009, 24, 146) merged the two previous regulations and came into force in 2009. Note that the main provisions remained unchanged, and the definition of remote games (online casinos) was added. And the responsibility of operators is described in more detail.

Another law regulating the activities of companies is the law on taxes on gambling.

Estonian Tax and customs Board, established in 2008, controls the gambling business in Estonia. The organization reports to the Ministry of Finance. The scope of the department is quite wide, the main functions:

• Issuance of licenses for gambling and licenses for organizing of gambling and performance of functions of gambling supervision authority.
• Exercise control over the implementation of the tax legislation in the country 
• Implementation and application of customs legislation

In addition, the organization takes measures to protect citizens from gambling addiction (social responsibility). On the department's website, you can apply for inclusion in the register of citizens wishing to limit themselves from playing in casinos, lotteries, and sports betting.

License types of Estonian Tax and Customs Board

The Estonian Gambling law clearly defines the types of games that require a gambling license when they are organized, and therefore there are four main types of licensing:

1. Õnnemängu (Gambling) – license for the organization of gambling. These are various casinos, slot machine halls, and online casinos.
2. Toto (Toto) – license for the organization of various kinds of bets, such as sports sweepstakes.
3. Osavusmängu (Skill Games) – games in which winning depends on player skill, for example, poker. Also in this category are all tournament competitions.
4. Loterii (Lotteries) – all kinds of lotteries are licensed. There is an additional division on the amount of the prize fund up to 1000 Euros and up to 10 000 euros.

Upon receipt of a gambling license, you must pay a fee for the consideration of the application:

• Gambling – 47 940 Euros
• Toto – 31 960 EUR
• Skill games and Lotteries – 3200 Euro

A gambling license for online casinos is issued for up to five years. A company entitled to provide access to gambling services in the territory of Estonia must be registered in the territory of a state or a country belonging to the European Union. The capital must be at least 1 000 000 Euros (to open a casino). The monthly tax paid by the operator of the online casino is 5% of the turnover of the institution, net of paid winnings.

Dispute resolution

Estonian Tax and Customs Board does not deal with disputes between the player and the operator. Players can only apply to other instances, such as the court. A casino operating under the Estonian gambling license is obliged to comply with the existing legislation.

Conclusion

Estonian Tax and Customs Board has a low level of "development". That is, we want to say that working in the field of gambling regulation for more than 10 years, there are no significant changes. For example, at present, the lack of support for the player (settlement of claims) from the regulatory organization looks rather "wild". The social aspect is also poorly developed, and of course, there is an organization to help gambling-addicted citizens, but if we compare the complex with the measures taken in this area with other similar organizations, the Estonian Department loses.

In general, this situation is understandable, E-Tax Board has an extremely large area of responsibility.

Undoubtedly, according to Casinoz, Estonia is attractive for companies opening online casinos, due to low taxes and low fees for opening gambling establishments. Although in 2019 it is planned to introduce changes to the existing legislation.