Estonia remote gambling licence.

What you get

How the firm obtains the licence

1. Scoping and proposal. The gambling types (games of chance, toto or skill), the share capital and reserve, the non-resident taxpayer registration and the EAKS control system build are confirmed in writing before the state fee is paid.
2. Application pack. The activity licence application, then the operating permit with Annexes 1 to 8 and the independent expert certificate with management and owner files, police certificates and tax returns complete.
3. Payment processing. Acquiring, alternative payment methods and the player payment accounts listed in the operating permit are arranged through the firm’s relationships before the decision, with payments shown to come from each player’s own account.
4. Regulator engagement. The Board’s questions are answered through one process across both stages, with EAKS live and connected to EHMA and HAMPI before the permit decision; the activity licence is decided within four months of complete documents.

Key people, banking and technology

You will need directors and supervisory board members, each with a police certificate and three years of financial records and tax returns.

One engagement and one timetable, from scoping to launch. Speak to an expert about the people, the banking and the technology for this licence.

Who needs the licence

Games of chance, toto and games of skill in Estonia may be organised only by a trustworthy legal person meeting the Gambling Act, holding both an activity licence and an operating permit from the Tax and Customs Board. Remote gambling is gambling whose outcome is determined by an electronic device and in which players participate electronically; using electronic means only to take bets, announce results or transfer payments is not remote gambling. The Board blocks the websites of unlicensed operators available in Estonia. Estonia is used by EU groups that want a stable licence with a published tax rate and a regulator that accepts EU-registered companies.

Licence and permit types

The Board’s pages identify no separate business-to-business supplier licence; suppliers to Estonian licensees agree their position with the Board before supplying.

What the ETCB requires

• Legal form and capital. A public or private limited company registered in Estonia or the EU with the share capital for the gambling type; non-resident companies first register with the Board as non-resident taxpayers and file an Estonian translation of the annual report; the operator conducts only gambling as its activity. At least one-seventh of annual net profit is transferred to a reserve until it reaches the amount in the articles, and the reserve is at least one-third of share capital unless shareholders’ equity is at least half of total assets.
• Management and owners. Management and supervisory board members notified with identity, residence, employment history, trustworthiness documents such as police certificates, three years of financial status documents and authenticated income tax returns (Estonian members exempt from the financial and tax documents); prior notice of any qualifying holding of 10% or more with ownership and beneficial owner details, and for foreign acquirers financial records, police certificates and three annual reports.
• Control system. An electronic recordkeeping and control system (EAKS) implemented, tested and operational before the permit decision, connected to the Board’s reporting system (EHMA) through X-tee, with a tested connection to the list of persons with gambling restrictions (HAMPI).
• Servers and data. The operating permit application states the server location and the company managing the servers, with a signed annex confirming that the server stores player registration, identification, age-check, gambling-restriction, session and login data for five years; the Board’s pages state no requirement that servers be in Estonia.
• Player payments. The operating permit application lists the bank accounts used for player payments and shows that payments come from the player’s own account.
• Application pack. The activity licence application, submitted digitally signed by email, by post or through the Register of Economic Activities after the state fee is paid; then the remote gambling operating permit application with Annexes 1 to 8 covering player identification, security, data protection, game rules, the independent expert certificate, server data storage, bet and payment records and own-account payments. New platforms or games are notified before launch with an expert certificate confirming the random number generator, a payout above 80% and five-year data storage.

Capital

The share capital is held in the company before the activity licence application; the reserve requirement applies unless shareholders’ equity is at least half of total assets.

Timing

Figures published by the regulator are quoted as published and converted to months. The realistic timeline is the firm’s own, for a complete, well-prepared application.

Fees and costs

Gaming duty and tax

Gambling tax for remote games of chance and games of skill was 6% of the amount received from bets less prizes in 2025. From 2026 the Board’s table shows 5.5% for remote games of skill, toto and tournaments; the Board states that in 2025 remote gambling of both kinds, tournaments, ring games and toto were taxed at 6% rather than 5.5%. The Board’s table does not state the 2026 rate for remote games of chance, which is agreed with the Board before filing. Tournament fees were taxed at 6% in 2025 and 5.5% from 2026; lotteries pay 22% of ticket sales and commercial lotteries 22% of the prize pool. The taxable period is the calendar month, with the return and payment due by the 15th of the following month. Corporate income tax is assessed separately from gambling tax.

Markets covered

The licence covers gambling offered in Estonia; the operating permit lists the internet addresses and IP ranges used. There is no EU passport for gambling: an operator serving other Member States holds the local licence in each, such as Spelinspektionen in Sweden or the MGA in Malta, and the firm obtains each.

Why applications are delayed

The Board’s pages set out what it looks for.

1. A trustworthy legal person. Management, supervisory board members and owners of 10% or more documented with police certificates, financial records and tax returns before the decision.
2. A working control system. The electronic recordkeeping and control system implemented, tested and connected to the Board’s reporting system and to the restrictions list before the permit decision; the two-month period runs from complete documents.
3. Complete documents. The statutory periods run from complete documents, with the outer limit of six and four months from filing; the grounds for refusal are set in the Gambling Act.

Payment processing

An operator needs acquiring, alternative payment methods and the bank accounts for player payments that are listed in the operating permit application, with payments shown to come from the player’s own account. The firm arranges acquiring and player-funds accounts through institutions that accept the sector, during the application, with the compliance framework prepared to their standard. See banking and payment processing.

Questions firms ask

References

1. ETCB: applying for permits
2. ETCB: for gambling operators
3. ETCB: gambling tax
4. ETCB: gambling operator reminder
5. ETCB: reporting and access
6. Gambling Act (Riigi Teataja)

This guide is general information for firms considering authorisation and is reviewed against the regulator’s published requirements. It is not legal advice; requirements and fees change, and the regulator’s current publications take precedence.