Estonia’s Tanel Tein defends online gambling tax cut as government advances early review

Eesti 200 MP Tanel Tein is pushing back on claims that Estonia’s lower remote gambling tax rate is already hurting state revenues. For PSPs and iGaming operators, the real point is simpler: Estonia is still testing whether a lower tax burden can pull in international operators, and the government is now reviewing the policy sooner than planned.

1. As of this year, Estonia is phasing down its remote gambling tax by 0.5 percentage points a year, from 6% in 2025 to 4% from 2029. A legislative error briefly abolished the tax completely for online casino gaming for this year, but that was later corrected, and operators have volunteered to pay the intended 5.5% rate.
2. Prime Minister Kristen Michal has ordered parliament to bring forward a review of the measure after gaming tax revenue fell 9.7% in the first seven months of 2026. The criticism is coming from several directions: Isamaa leader Urmas Reinsalu has challenged the policy, and so has Margus Allikmaa, chairman of Kultuurikapital, which is funded from gaming tax revenue.
3. Tein told ERR that the 9.7% decline in total gambling tax receipts should not be treated as a straight loss from the remote gambling tax cut. His argument is that total gambling tax also includes Eesti Loto and land-based gambling, and those tax rates were not reduced by the reform.
4. He also said the first two months of the year were distorted by the legislative mistake, and that the Kultuurikapital funding shortfall linked specifically to remote gambling tax revenue was about €956,000, only a small part of the overall decline.
5. Tein rejected Reinsalu’s claim that the tax cut would cost the state €31m, saying that figure is a forecast based on assumptions about future market behaviour. He also argued that moving the rate from 5% to 7% would amount to a 40% increase in the tax burden on operators.

For high-risk operators, the useful signal is not just the tax rate itself but the political temperature around it. Estonia is trying to use tax policy to attract international iGaming businesses, and the debate now turns on whether lower rates can grow the base fast enough to offset the short-term hit to receipts.