ESTONIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Karolina Ullman, Triin Kaurson, Linell Raud and Felix Raidmäe, NJORD Law Firm
3.2 Definition of Gambling According to the Gambling Act, Section 2, Subsec- tion 1, gambling is a game that meets all the following criteria: • it is a precondition for participating in a game that the player makes a bet; • the player may win a prize as a result of the game; and • the outcome of the game is partly or fully deter- mined by an activity based on chance or depends on the occurrence of a previously unknown event. There are four types of games in Estonia, as follows. • Games of chance (games organised on gaming tables and gaming machines) – these are games in which the outcome depends on chance and that are played by means of a mechanical or electronic device or by mediation of the organiser of the game. • Lotteries (bingo, etc) – these are games in which the outcome depends on chance, the prize pool constitutes up to 80% of the selling price of the circulation of the lottery tickets, and the outcome of the game is not determined more than three times per 24 hours or it is determined by opening the ticket field on the lottery ticket. • Totos – these are games in which the outcome depends on the occurrence, non-occurrence, or manner of the event predicted by the player, where the event on which the player is betting is beyond the control of the gambling operator. The win- ning of a prize depends on whether the bet turns out to be true or not and the amount of the prize depends on the amount of the bet and the winning coefficient determined before the making of the bet (betting) or percentage of the total amount of the bets as determined by the gambling operator, the number of people who bet correctly, and the amount of their bets (totalisator). • Games of skill – these are games in which the out- come depends predominantly on the physical skills or abilities or knowledge of the player, and that are played by means of a mechanical or electronic device.
3.3 Definition of Land-Based Gambling Land-based gambling is not specifically defined, but it serves as the foundational basis of the legislation. 3.4 Definition of Online Gambling Online gambling is considered a way of organising gambling. According to the Gambling Act, Section 5, Subsection 1, remote gambling (online gambling) is the organisation of gambling in a manner where the outcome of the game is determined by an electronic device and the player can participate in the game by electronic means of communication, including tel- ephone, the internet, and media services. Gambling is not considered remote gambling where electronic means of communication are used only for receiving bets, providing information about the outcome of the game, or transferring a prize amount to the account of a player. 3.5 Key Offences All offences are covered in Chapter 5 of the Gambling Act. The key offences and penalties are as follows (one fine unit is EUR8). Violation of the Age Limit Established for Players of Gambling Games A person under 21 years of age being present in a gaming location for games of chance or enabling a person under 21 years of age to play a game of chance or a game of skill organised as remote gam- bling, or enabling a person under 18 years of age to be present in a gaming location for a toto or enabling such person to play a toto, or enabling a person under 16 years of age to play the lottery is punishable by a fine of up to 200 fine units (see above) or detention. If committed by a legal person, the same act is punish- able by a fine of up to EUR2,600. Violation of the Requirement for Identification and Registration of Persons Entering a Gaming Location Failure to identify or register persons entering a gam- ing location for games of chance by the organiser of the game of chance or violation of the requirements established for registration is punishable by a fine of up to 100 fine units. If committed by a legal person, the same act is punishable by a fine of up to EUR2,000.
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