Estonian operators donate €1.4m after gambling tax blunder
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- Remote gambling operators have donated just over €1.4m to Estonia’s Ministry of Finance in voluntary contributions as of 18 March, following a legislative drafting error that wiped out their tax obligations for the first two months of 2026.
- The ministry estimates the actual tax liability for January and February would have been approximately €3.5m, leaving a significant shortfall.
- The corrected Gambling Tax Act took effect on 1 March 2026, restoring a 5.5% levy on all remote gambling.
Estonian remote gambling operators have donated just over €1.4m to the Ministry of Finance as of 18 March after a drafting error in the Gambling Tax Act inadvertently exempted them from paying tax at the start of 2026, according to figures shared by the ministry this week.
The contributions were made voluntarily, as the legislative oversight could not be corrected retroactively. They cover a period in which operators faced no legal tax obligation on their revenues.
How the error happened
Amendments to the Gambling Tax Act, passed by the Riigikogu on 3 December 2025 and promulgated by the president on 18 December, were designed to gradually lower the gambling tax rate from 6% to 4% by half a percentage point each year.
A drafting mistake applied taxation only to “skill games,” excluding “games of chance,” the legal category covering online casino and other chance-based products.
Parliamentary members introduced a technical amendment to correct the wording. The Riigikogu (unicameral parliament of Estonia) approved the change with an effective date of 1 March 2026, aligned with the monthly tax assessment cycles used by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.
Because the law cannot be applied retroactively, the state faced a gap in tax income for the full months of January and February.
Shortfall still growing
Siiri Suutre, Ministry of Finance spokesperson, said:
“Donations received in February, including income tax, totalled approximately €815,000 and so far in March around €595,000 has been received. The March figure is not final and additional donations are still expected to our knowledge. Some companies have also indicated that they will transfer payments for two months at once; those donations should also arrive this month.”
Suutre added that based on income declared by gambling operators for January and February, the estimated remote gambling tax liability would have been around €3.5m, slightly below the initially projected €4m.
Only a minority of the 41 licensed remote operators have contributed to the voluntary scheme, which was proposed by the Estonian Association of Gambling Operators.
Evelyn Liivamägi, Deputy Secretary General for Financial and Tax Policy at the Ministry of Finance, said:
“Life generally shows that everyone is much more enthusiastic about making promises than later fulfilling them.”
The ministry noted that KULKA, the Cultural Endowment that benefits from gambling tax revenues, had its February allocation covered by the incoming donations. January’s allocation would have been approximately €778,000 based on that month’s declared remote gambling revenue.
In the state budget, the Ministry of Finance had projected that remote gambling tax revenue could reach €27m across the full year.
Broader market context
The episode comes at a sensitive time for Estonia’s gambling sector. The country has been positioning itself as a competitive European iGaming jurisdiction, with its staged tax reduction plan intended to attract new operators.
Foreign-registered companies have been notably absent from the donor pool, with just one foreign operator among those contributing. The majority of donations have come from domestically based firms. The ministry will only be able to confirm the full extent of the revenue shortfall once annual returns are filed.
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