Estonia fires advisor over typo in Gambling Tax Act

(AsiaGameHub) –   The mistake regarding Estonia’s online gambling tax has now been rectified.

Estonia.- Reports indicate that the advisor blamed for a clerical error that inadvertently removed Estonia’s remote gambling tax has been fired. According to broadcaster ERR, the unidentified official made a drafting slip-up, which was fixed in an updated Gambling Tax Act recently rushed through by the legislature.

Estonia plans to incrementally reduce its gambling tax by 0.5% annually, moving from 6% down to 4% by 2029. For the upcoming year, the rate is set at 5.5%; however, the original bill’s language mentioned only “skill games” instead of games of chance, which meant online gambling was technically exempt from taxation this year.

The decision to decrease the gambling tax was intended to position Estonia as an iGaming center similar to Gibraltar or Malta. Eventually, the rate will drop below Malta’s 5% levy. Antero Habicht, the Riigikogu Chancellery director, informed ERR that the termination resulted from both the drafting mistake and other concerns identified during a disciplinary review.

It is estimated that Estonia’s tax on remote gambling will bring in approximately €27m by 2026.