🇪🇪 Estonia gambling license check

Licensed market   Last verified

Estonia licenses online gambling through Estonian Tax and Customs Board, and every real EMTA licence can be confirmed in the authority's public register. If a casino claims an Estonia permit, the register linked below settles it in under two minutes.

Regulator
Estonian Tax and Customs Board · EMTA
Official register
Public licensee register
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No, manual search only
Regime
Licensed market
Search the official EMTA register

How to verify an Estonia license

  1. Open the list of legal gambling operators on emta.ee
  2. Expand the section that matches the site, Games of chance online for casinos or Organisers of toto for betting
  3. Look for the exact web address shown in your browser, since EMTA lists the websites of each operator
  4. Check that the company named in the casino's terms matches the gambling operator in the same row
  5. Follow the MTR link in that row and confirm the licences shown there are marked valid, Kehtiv Jah
  6. Compare the licence and permit numbers shown on the casino site with the HKT and HKL numbers in MTR

License types in Estonia

An operator first needs an activity licence for each type of gambling and then a separate operating permit for each gaming location or for each type of remote gambling. Games of chance cover games on gaming tables and gaming machines, tournaments such as poker and additional games of chance, and they may be offered in a land-based casino, aboard ships or online. Toto covers betting on any event beyond the operator's control, sports or otherwise.

  • Activity licence for organising games of chance
  • Activity licence for organising toto, meaning betting
  • Activity licence for organising games of skill
  • Operating permit for remote gambling, issued per type or subtype of game
  • Operating permit for a land-based gaming location or a ship
  • Lottery operating permit, reserved for a state-owned company

Key facts about the EMTA regime

  • Activity licences are issued for an unspecified term and cannot be transferred
  • A remote operating permit for games of chance, lottery or games of skill runs for up to five years, and a toto permit for up to 20 years
  • Applicants must be companies registered in Estonia or the EU with share capital of at least 1,000,000 euros for games of chance, 130,000 euros for toto or 25,000 euros for games of skill, and gambling must be their only activity
  • The state fee for an activity licence is 47,940 euros for games of chance, 31,960 euros for toto and 3,200 euros for games of skill
  • A gambling licence from another EEA country gives no right to offer gambling in Estonia
  • Players must be 21 or older for games of chance and remote games of skill, and 18 or older for toto and lotteries

What the license means for players

An Estonian licensed online operator must identify every player, offer a weekly or monthly loss limit before the first game and show how long the player has been playing. A player can raise a loss limit only after confirming the request at least 48 hours later, while a lower limit applies at once. A person can ask EMTA or a licensed operator to add them to the list of persons with restrictions on gambling, covering games of chance, toto or lottery, and the request sets a period of six months to three years before removal can be requested. EMTA says it cannot help players with problems on sites that are not authorised in Estonia.

Red flags and fake EMTA claims

  • The website is missing from the EMTA list even though the company name appears there
  • The site does not show the operator's name, address and the numbers of its activity licence and operating permit, which the Gambling Act requires
  • The site offers casino games to players under 21
  • A licence from Malta or another EEA country is presented as permission to serve Estonian players
  • The domain appears on EMTA's list of blocked illegal remote gambling domains

Legal status and tax

Gambling is legal in Estonia under the Gambling Act for operators holding an activity licence and an operating permit from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Online casino, betting and games of skill are open to licensed companies, while lotteries with a prize pool over 1,000 euros are reserved for a company wholly owned by the state. EMTA blocks access to websites of operators that offer gambling in Estonia without the required licences, and internet providers must block those domains on its order.

Operators pay a monthly gambling tax to EMTA by the 15th of the following month. The rate for remote games of chance and games of skill is 5.5% of bets less prizes from 1 March 2026, down from 6% in 2025, and toto is taxed at 5.5% of bets less prizes from 1 January 2026. Lotteries pay 22% of ticket sales.

Frequently asked questions

Who regulates online gambling in Estonia?

Estonian Tax and Customs Board, usually shortened to EMTA, oversees gambling in Estonia. An operator first needs an activity licence for each type of gambling and then a separate operating permit for each gaming location or for each type of remote gambling. Games of chance cover games on gaming tables and gaming machines, tournaments such as poker and additional games of chance, and they may be offered in a land-based casino, aboard ships or online. Toto covers betting on any event beyond the operator's control, sports or otherwise.

How do I check if a casino holds an Estonia license?

Open the official register on www.emta.ee and search for the operator. EMTA publishes one public page listing every licensed gambling operator by subtype, with online games of chance, casinos, ships, toto, games of skill and lotteries in separate sections. Each row shows the operator, its brands and its websites and links to the operator's entry in the Register of Economic Activities, MTR, where the licence numbers and validity dates are held. There is no search box and no data download for the list. A real licensee appears there under its own name.

What does a EMTA license mean for players?

An Estonian licensed online operator must identify every player, offer a weekly or monthly loss limit before the first game and show how long the player has been playing. A player can raise a loss limit only after confirming the request at least 48 hours later, while a lower limit applies at once. A person can ask EMTA or a licensed operator to add them to the list of persons with restrictions on gambling, covering games of chance, toto or lottery, and the request sets a period of six months to three years before removal can be requested. EMTA says it cannot help players with problems on sites that are not authorised in Estonia.

How do I spot a fake Estonia license claim?

The website is missing from the EMTA list even though the company name appears there The site does not show the operator's name, address and the numbers of its activity licence and operating permit, which the Gambling Act requires The site offers casino games to players under 21 A licence from Malta or another EEA country is presented as permission to serve Estonian players The domain appears on EMTA's list of blocked illegal remote gambling domains

Sources

Not sure how registers work in general? Read the guide on how to check a casino license or browse every jurisdiction we cover.