As Estonia seeks to position itself as one of Europe’s iGaming hubs, the debate around gambling advertising continues to plague the market’s transformation.
According to local outlet EER, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) found that almost half of the gambling advertisements it inspected failed to comply with current laws.
In total, 104 of the 230 advertisements inspected failed to meet acceptable standards.
Diana Lints from the TTJA told EER: “Those breaches varied considerably. They included misleading advertising, warning text in gambling advertisements that did not meet the legal requirements, and games of chance advertisements which, under the law, are prohibited altogether.”
Estonia has eyed iGaming as a key sector for international investment. Specifically, as wider market growth continues to elevate across the Nordics.
The country is currently in the process of reducing its remote gambling tax from 6% to 4% over four years, a landmark move that positions it as one of the lowest tax frameworks in Europe.
However, part of this process includes considering the litany of regulations that surround the industry, including advertising.
Mari-Liis Aas, consumer protection adviser at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, said there are a range of regulations for the industry.
For example, there is a prohibition on the advertising of games of chance, including poker, roulette and slots. However, lotteries and sports betting advertising is ‘more broadly permitted ‘.
Estonia remains in the early stages of reshaping its gambling market, and Aas was non-committal as to whether the authorities would consider making changes in light of the findings.
She said: “It is unfortunately not yet possible to say whether or to what extent gambling advertising regulation will be changed in the future.”
Though a small sample size of advertisements, the findings will present a concern for the government that has already run into hiccups as it begins a new tax regime.
At the beginning of the year, an error was discovered that initially exempted online casinos from tax in 2026.
It was later amended, and an advisor was blamed and later sacked in a decision that was cited as unavoidable given the tax losses as a result of the error.
Amid these complications, early reporting suggests that there has been little change to Estonia’s tax receipts from the sector following the changes.
