Estonian online casinos for Real Money

The Republic of Estonia first legalised online gambling in 1994, three years after gaining independence from the Soviet Union, when the Lottery Act was passed. Back in the days of the USSR, gambling was forbidden. Once the National Lottery of Estonia was launched, things began to open for players in the country.

In 1995, Estonia passed the Law on Gambling. This effectively made it legal to gamble at land-based venues in the country. Those laws were gradually replaced by the 2008 Gambling Act, which also took online betting into consideration. Today, the amended Gambling Act of 2008 remains the main piece of legislation governing Estonia’s gambling laws.

Estonia’s gambling industry is always in flux. For instance, the legalisation of online gambling sites in 2008 has seen the number of land-based establishments drop by two-thirds. Initially, only Estonian companies were allowed to apply for a gambling license. However, in a bid to comply with the EU’s laws, Estonia opened its sector up to foreign sites in 2011. Any betting sites and casinos that haven’t applied for an Estonian gambling license have been effectively blocked by ISP (internet service provider) bans since then. It is worth noting that this has only really been the case for major sites. Many of the smaller ones either slip through the Estonian authority’s fingers, or they simply can’t be bothered hunting them all down.

Estonia’s gambling licenses are awarded by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (also known as the ETCB). They oversee and license gambling establishments and run the rule over any online casino sites licensed in the country. Two types of licenses can be found in Estonia. The first of these is for sportsbooks, while the second covers casinos.

At €35,200 for sportsbook licenses and €51,200 for casino licenses, they aren’t cheap, especially when the population of the country is limited to just under 1.5 million. Operators are not required to be Estonian but are required to have some sort of physical presence in the Northern European country.

Notably, lottery, bingo, keno, and other number gambling-based games aren’t part of the ETCB’s remit. Instead, these are all under the jurisdiction of Eesti Loto – the state-run monopoly. Instant win games are also handled by the monopoly.

Around 70% of Estonian adults gamble so it is quite a popular pastime. Twenty-five percent of Estonians bet online weekly, with twenty percent of nationals betting in land-based venues each week. Naturally, each Estonian player will have their own preferences about what they want to play. However, there doesn’t appear to be a clear consensus on what are “favourite games” among Estonians. Estonians love to have a pop at sports betting, with hockey and football bets, in particular, a big hit.

There is one particular software provider that comes from Estonia that virtually every casino player worth their salt will have heard of. No review of Estonian gambling would be complete without at least mentioning them in passing.

While Playtech was founded by Israeli entrepreneur Teddy Sagi and is renowned for being the major developer in the UK (it is even based on the Isle of Man today), its origins can be traced back to Tartu, in Estonia. This is by far the most prolific provider to come out of the country. Naturally, Playtech’s games appear in casinos licensed in its homeland, but you can also find games from other software providers on those sites, too.

Estonian-licensed online casinos are only permitted to accept players from Estonia. They may not accept players from any other country, even fellow EU member states. Of course, for the bigger sites, this simply means creating a dedicated, bespoke Estonian site and running it alongside their other domains.

Offshore casinos that cater to Estonians can find themselves on a blacklist if they grow too large and become noticeable. However, of the sites which have escaped the ISP bans, they accept players from Estonia and arguably offer them a greater array of games than at Estonian-licensed sites. However, Estonians are unlikely to find support and gameplay in their language at these sites, nor can they use their preferred currency and local payment options at many offshore casinos.