28/09/2009, Online casino
Estonia promised to legalize online gambling starting on the 1st of January 2010.
Estonians will be allowed to play online games such as blackjack, roulette, slot machine or poker.
The New Estonia Gambling Act is about to recognize the licenses of online casino operators within the European Union, but the casino operators located outside the European Union will not be authorized to accept players from Estonia.
This is a big step forward for the Estonian industry, especially now when more and more countries are trying to legalize and regulate the Internet gambling, due to a more profitable industry.
The online gambling operators will be able to receive a valid Gambling Activity License in Estonia.
From the 1st of January 2010 the online gambling operators who have a valid Gambling Activity License in Estonia will be able to apply for remote gambling operation permits.
Companies who want to enter the Estonian market will need a "Gambling Activity License" and each company will have to apply separately for remote gambling operation permits. In order to apply for the license, companies must be properly incorporated and well funded, being forced to submit to background checks.
“It is a fact that a number of foreign on-line casino sites have been and are accessible in Estonia, although their operators have no local license — since it is not possible to obtain it at the moment. This does not necessarily mean that those operators are not licensed at all as many of them have already gone through a licensing procedure and hold licenses from other EU member states. The activity of these on-line operators fall under the free movement of services and their home state regulation may even be more strict in some cases than it will be in Estonia. However, from the 1st of January 2010 thousands of on-line gambling operations accessible in Estonia will become illegal if the operator does not comply with the Estonian Gambling Act and access to those sites can and will be limited. On the other hand, it may not be economically rational for many operators to legalize their activity by establishing a new enterprise in Estonia and going through the whole licensing process. In order to solve this problem the drafters included provisions on subcontracting of gambling activities,” said Marge Tubalkain-Trell in the Baltic Business News.