A new draft legislation in Estonia, led by Reform Party MP and Legal Affairs Committee chair Madis Timpson, seeks to position the Baltic nation as a European iGaming hub to compete with Malta.
Estonia Might Become the Next European iGaming Hub
The new bill proposes a gradual reduction of the gambling tax by 0.5 percentage points annually, aiming to lower it to 4% by 2029. This marks a significant shift from the government’s earlier plan to increase the tax to 7% in the coming year. Furthermore, Timpson emphasized the potential social benefits of the measure, pointing out that increased revenue could be used to support sports and cultural programs. He noted that every cent generated could help fund long-awaited renovations of sports infrastructure across the country.
Estonia’s national Gambling Act has remained substantively unchanged for over 15 years. Proponents of the bill contend that reducing the remote gambling tax could lead to increased revenue despite the lower rate and might also attract foreign investment into Estonia’s gaming industry.
The country’s government has been discussing the idea of boosting the iGaming industry in the country for some months now. The newest proposed bill comes at the tail end of heated arguments throughout the summer, as in June, Estonia once again considered lowering gambling taxes.
There Are Those Who Oppose the Proposition
Estonia’s National Parliament (Riigikogu)’s finance committee has been assigned as the lead body responsible for handling the bill, which is expected to undergo thorough scrutiny from opposition members of parliament before it proceeds to a vote. Center Party MP Andrei Korobeinik, who serves as the deputy chair of the Riigikogu’s finance committee, is one of the leading voices against the new bill. He cautioned that the proposed tax cut could potentially reduce, rather than increase, government revenue.
Korobeinik argued that the bill’s sponsors had based their proposals on assurances from lobbyists that a lower tax rate would immediately attract operators. He noted, however, that no thorough analysis had been conducted and pointed out that experiences in other countries suggest such a modest reduction is unlikely to have a significant impact on the market. According to him, companies in the sector prioritize stability and regulatory certainty over marginal tax changes.
He also remarked that, regardless of the outcome, the debate surrounding the bill might help bring greater transparency to the funding of sports and cultural initiatives, an area he described as having lacked consistency in recent years.