Estonia

Estonia's online gambling licensing appears straightforward. The laws are clear, the regulator is defined, and the sector focuses on digital operations. However, the process is strict. Operators have to deal with a two-stage approval model, heavy technical scrutiny, and ongoing supervision that expects clean data and fast reporting.

If you want an iGaming licence in Estonia, prepare for a regulated product launch. You need a proper corporate structure, compliant technology, and clear evidence of ongoing supervision capability. 2WinPower juridical experts always monitor the latest changes. Our team is fully prepared for the updates the regulator may offer and quickly adapts the offering according to the changes.

Legal Background of Online Formats

The official framework splits gambling into several categories. The regulator treats each vertical separately. Remote engagement is where the outcome is generated by a gaming system, while the player takes part through electronic communication (internet or similar channels).

Licensing and Supervision

The Estonian Tax and Customs Board handles registration decisions and ongoing oversight. This includes enforcement actions tied to illegal remote gambling. This matters for operators because it keeps accountability clear. It also means you have a single point of contact that can request data, ask questions, and pause your launch if the picture does not add up.

Relevant Permissions

Estonia uses a two-step model, and operators need both approvals before the launch.

The logic behind the registration:

1. Activity licence (company-level approval). This is the regulator's "fit and proper" check of the legal entity behind the brand. It comes before the website approval.
2. Operating permit (product and execution approval). This stage focuses on how you actually organise the system, the channels, and the operational controls. For remote gambling, the permit is issued for a defined term and needs to be renewed.

Estonia does not treat an EEA licence as a passport to operate locally. If you want to run under Estonian rules, you apply under Estonian rules.

Age Limits

Restrictions for the audience are enforced rules, and the operator carries the risk. Games of chance and skill have a 21+ threshold (including online participation) while toto has an 18+ limit. Classic lottery products sit lower, but that does not help iGaming brands that focus on casino-style content.

Remote Gaming Specifics

Estonia's online gambling framework requires continuous supervision. Your system must support regulatory oversight.

Entry Requirements

The regulator reviews all requirements thoroughly. You cannot 'fix issues later'. The authority expects timely compliance from the start.

What typically defines readiness in Estonia:

1. Corporate form and budget. This jurisdiction ties licence eligibility to company form and paid-up share capital requirements by gambling type. The numbers influence whether you can even submit a valid application.
2. Business scope limitations. The licensing model expects an organiser to focus on gambling activity rather than operate as a general-purpose trading house. If your structure looks like a mixed-activity vehicle, it becomes a red flag.
3. Clean compliance baseline. You can lose time on issues unrelated to your platform. The regulator will not interpret documentation gaps favourably.

Server and Data Duties

The first sentence of your compliance plan should show the retrievable data. Estonia requires the server used for remote gambling software to store information related to registration, identity checks, age verification, restriction audits, and session events (log-in, log-out, start).

That storage is not for your internal analytics only. Specific remote-gambling information must be kept for years in a way that allows the Tax and Customs Board, police, or the Financial Intelligence Unit to request it and receive it.

Player Loss Limits and Transparency

Before a punter can gamble for the first time, the operator must present the option to set a weekly or monthly loss limit. The platform must not accept bets that would push lost funds beyond that threshold.

There is also a clear transparency duty. The player must constantly see how long they have been interacting and be able to access bets and winnings information.

Self-Exclusion

Estonia’s restriction mechanism is not limited to citizens. Foreigners can also set restrictions for themselves, including through the E-Tax Board route.

For an operator, that means two practical consequences. They must build the ability to respect restrictions consistently and have to treat “I did not know” as a risk, not as an excuse.

Application Process and Fees

The paperwork is only one layer. The real timeline depends on how complete your package is and how quickly you answer questions.

A realistic process of Estonian gambling licence application:

1. Incorporate and scope. Register a local or other EU company dedicated to gambling, define verticals, and map target destinations. Prepare a 3-year plan, policies (RG, AML), and platform architecture.
2. Capitalise the legal company. Meet minimum share capital by vertical, which is about €1,000,000 for casino content, €130,000 for sportsbook, and €25,000 for skill-based activities. Ensure funds are fully paid in and transparently sourced.
3. Fit-and-proper audits. Set up clean criminal records, CVs, and ownership structure for all controllers and managers. Add proof of industry experience and absence of conflicts or prior breaches.
4. Apply for the activity licence. File the corporate form with the regulator and pay the state fee aligned to the main vertical (~€47,940 for casino, ~€31,960 for betting, ~€3,200 for skill). Expect a 4–6 month review window.
5. Build the compliance infrastructure. Finalise KYC/age-verification flows, AML scenarios, game fairness evidence, and incident response procedures. Align advertising, bonus terms, and complaint handling with local rules.
6. Apply for operating permits. Submit product-level applications (remote casino, betting, etc.), including game rules, payment rails, risk controls, and hosting details. Typical review time is up to 2 months per permit.
7. Integrate state systems. Connect the platform to EHMA (regulator data feed) and the national self-exclusion register (HAMPI). Prove real-time blocking of excluded users and full transaction logging before approval.

Estonia is not cheap when you include compliance engineering, testing, and supervision infrastructure. Consider all expenses before starting the application to avoid hidden costs.

Basic obligatory instalments to cover:

1. State fees. You will pay for the activity licence and the operating permit, with amounts tied to the gambling type and channel. Remote operation is explicitly covered.
2. Gambling tax. For online games of chance or skill, the deduction base is the total amount received from bets minus prizes paid out. Toto uses the same logic. The current rate is set at 6%.

Estonia has publicly discussed and reported a phased reduction of the remote gambling tax from 6% to 4% over the 2027–2029 period. Operators should watch how the amendment is implemented in practice, because timelines and conditions matter for forecasting.

Ongoing Compliance after Approval

The day you go live is when the supervision starts. Operators that treat Estonia as “set and forget” usually pay for it later.

A practical compliance routine: 

• retention-ready records (identity and restriction checks, sessions, as well as remote activity logs);
• player protection enforcement (loss limits, display of play duration, accessible betting history);
• fast responses to information requests from the regulator and, where relevant, FIU channels;
• change management discipline (you notify, document, and keep the regulator in the loop when operational facts change).

At the same time, there can always be failures and issues. In the majority of cases, they are not “bad luck” but avoidable project mistakes.

Possible patterns that cost time or create enforcement exposure:

• an underfunded setup that cannot meet capital and operational expectations;
• weak technical controls that cannot support mandatory data storage and retrieval;
• player protection treated as marketing text instead of enforced logic;
• poor readiness for enforcement risk.

Also, operators should keep in mind that Estonia can require service providers to remove or block access to illegal remote gambling information based on a precept from the Tax and Customs Board.

The Main Things about Getting Licensed in Estonia

One of the most cherished Baltic jurisdictions offers a clear registration route, but it is strict in execution. If you plan for real supervision, the model is workable. At the same time, if you are looking for shortcuts, it becomes expensive.

Key aspects about the country’s licensing peculiarities:

• Estonia uses a two-step approval model (activity licence first, operating permit second), and you need both before launch.
• Remote gambling systems must store specific identity, age, restriction, and session data, and you must keep key records retrievable for years.
• Player protection duties include mandatory loss-limit tools and ongoing transparency about play time and betting history.
• Remote gambling tax is charged on bets minus prizes, and the current statutory rate is 6% for the online categories covered by the Act.
• A phased remote-tax reduction to 4% has been reported for 2027–2029, so long-term forecasts should account for legislative rollout conditions.