Tein says overregulation is keeping gambling firms away from Estonia

Estonian lawmaker Tanel Tein says the country should focus on why gambling tax revenue is falling and companies are not choosing to operate in Estonia, rather than criticising a cut to the remote gambling tax. Speaking to ERR, he said market participants consider Estonia overregulated.

Tein, a member of parliament for Eesti 200, said the tax strategy was designed to work over four years and should not be judged after six months. The aim of the tax cut was to bring more private funding into sport and culture through funds established at the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Asked about lower-than-expected tax receipts, Tein said the tax base had grown considerably in 2026 compared with 2025. But he argued that when the tax rate rose from 5% to 6%, growth in the tax base fell sharply, making it important to attract more taxable activity.

Tein said forecasts were not the same as money in the state budget. He cited the car tax as an example, saying the forecast had been €130 million in revenue, while collections amounted to just over €50 million. He also said that, as far as he knew, foreign operators account for about two-thirds of gambling tax revenue and the Finance Ministry had not asked them how they would respond to tax increases or cuts.

Tein rejected the claim that his estimate of €95 million in online casino tax revenue by 2029 was a forecast. He said it was a simulation based on the assumption that Estonia could attract 10 licences a year, and argued that the next question should be what the country needs to do to achieve that.

Responding to concerns from the Cultural Endowment that it lacked funds for projects, Tein said receipts had also fallen from alcohol and tobacco excise duties and Eesti Loto. He said remote gambling tax had previously helped cover shortfalls in other areas. Tein argued that if the tax base shrank, raising the rate even to 30% would not necessarily bring in more revenue; Estonia needed more companies and less overregulation.