Estonian advisor dismissed after Gambling Tax Act typo
The Estonian online gambling tax error has since been corrected.
Estonia.- The adviser allegedly responsible for the typo that led to Estonia accidentally eliminating remote gambling tax has reportedly been dismissed. The broadcaster ERR says the unnamed adviser was responsible for the drafting mistake, which was corrected in a revised version of the Gambling Tax Act hurriedly passed by lawmakers this month
Estonia is to gradually lower gambling tax by half a percentage point each year from the previous 6 per cent to 4 per cent from 2029. Under the initiative, the rate for the coming year is 5.5 per cent, but the wording of the legislation referred only to “skill games” rather than games of chance, effectively leaving online gambling unreached by tax this year.
The move to lower gambling tax in Estonia was billed an attempt to establish the country as a hub for igaming comparable with Malta and Gibraltar. The tax rate will eventually be lower than the 5 per cent levied in Malta. Antero Habicht, director of the Riigikogu Chancellery, told ERR the dismissal was not solely due to the drafting error but also to other issues uncovered during the disciplinary process.
Estonia’s remote gambling tax is forecast to generate around €27m in 2026. While legislation has now been corrected, remote gambling operators have reportedly submitted €1.4m in voluntary payments to the Ministry of Finance for February and March to cover what would have collected had the legislation been implemented correctly when intended.
Spokesperson Siiri Suutre said “donations” in February, including income tax, totalled approximately €815,000 and that those for March had already reached €595,000 with more expected.
