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Estonia’s government is probing whether online gambling companies can continue funding culture and sport even after a drafting error temporarily wiped out the legal basis for a key remote gambling tax.
“A tax is a legal obligation, so if that obligation no longer exists, we cannot speak of a tax,” Finance Ministry deputy secretary general Evelyn Liivamägi said, adding that officials are still assessing whether there is any lawful workaround that would allow companies to contribute until parliament restores the duty.
The remote gambling tax is not a small line item. ERR has reported that this year’s state budget is expected to raise roughly €27 million from taxes, around €2 million per month, funding that supports areas including culture and sports.
Industry says it’s willing, but the state isn’t sure it can accept
After the error surfaced earlier this week, Yolo Group said it was prepared to continue paying, and Estonia’s gambling operators’ association said its members would do the same until the law is fixed.
The catch is that willingness doesn’t automatically create a payment mechanism. Liivamägi said the Finance Ministry and the Tax and Customs Board are now working through the options, but she made clear there is no off-the-shelf solution.
One immediate issue is classification. If the state cannot treat a payment as “tax,” it has to decide what it is instead: a voluntary contribution, a donation, an advance, or something else, and whether the budget and revenue rules allow it to be accepted and directed to the right place.
Officials have not publicly settled on a structure. The ministry’s position so far is that it is still in analysis mode.
Lawmakers admit there’s no clear fix yet
On the political side, MPs are also conceding that the problem is harder than it sounds.
Tanel Tein (Eesti 200), one of the lawmakers involved in the broader tax changes, told Vikerraadio that the discussion is moving quickly, but the technical work is not yet complete.
“There is no solution on the table right now,” Tein said. “But again, it has only been two and a half days. This is not an easy task.”
The core legislative mistake was revealed on Monday: amendments passed late last year unintentionally left remote gambling and online casino games outside the tax base for 2026.
Parliament has started the repair job, but the clock matters
While ministries debate a temporary bridge, the Riigikogu has already begun moving a correction bill. The aim is to restore the tax obligation, but the timeline still leaves a gap.
ERR has reported that lawmakers expect the fix to be adopted by the end of February, depending on how quickly the parliamentary procedure runs.
Source: EER
