Estonian MP Tanel Tein Defends Remote Gambling Tax Cut Against Early Review Push

An Estonian MP has defended the phased reduction in the remote gambling tax rate, arguing it is too soon to judge its effectiveness in drawing international operators to the jurisdiction.

Tanel Tein of the Eesti 200 party, a key backer of the change, said critics are reaching conclusions prematurely. Prime Minister Kristen Michal has directed parliament to bring forward a review of the measure introduced this year, following a reported drop in gaming tax revenue.

The tax rate is scheduled to fall by 0.5 per cent each year, from six per cent in 2025 to four per cent from 2029. A legislative error temporarily eliminated the tax for online casino gaming this year before correction, with operators volunteering to pay the planned 5.5 per cent rate.

Countering Claims on Revenue Impact

According to reporting by Focus Gaming News, Tein rejected suggestions that the lower remote gambling rate caused a 9.7 per cent decline in total gaming tax revenue over the first seven months of 2026. He noted that receipts from Eesti Loto and land-based gambling had also decreased.

“A 9.7 per cent decline in total gambling tax receipts is not the ‘loss’ caused by the remote gambling tax cut,” Tein said. “The legislative amendment changed the remote gambling tax rate. But total gambling tax also includes Eesti Loto and traditional gambling, whose tax rates were not reduced by this reform.”

Tein stated that the funding shortfall for the Kultuurikapital foundation tied specifically to remote gambling tax revenue stood at approximately €956,000. He challenged Isamaa leader Urmas Reinsalu’s claim of a €31m revenue cost to the state, describing the figure as a forecast through 2029 based on assumptions about future market behaviour.

The MP pointed to six companies securing operating licences in 2026 that had not previously been active in Estonia, exceeding the number granted in all of 2025. He argued there is often a considerable delay between market entry decisions, regulatory approval and taxable revenue generation, describing 2026 as a transition year under tighter anti-money laundering standards. Raising the rate from five per cent to seven per cent would amount to a 40 per cent increase in the tax burden, he added.

The Demand for an Impact Assessment

Tein has called for evidence before any reversal, urging an assessment of whether a higher tax rate would deliver more revenue to Estonia and Kultuurikapital. Any policy shift now risks undermining longer-term efforts to attract larger international operators at a time when the market is adapting to stricter requirements. Estonian authorities must therefore ground decisions in observed outcomes rather than early projections.

Reporting: Focus Gaming News

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