Online Casino Rules for Estonia Begin at New Year

Estonia has crafted strict online casino regulations that seem to still fit EU requirements, allowing implementation to start at the beginning of the year.

Regulations covering online casino operation in the country of Estonia were passed by the legislature and will be implemented in January of 2010. While the Estonia Gambling Act recognizes the licenses of Internet gaming operators based in other EU countries, it still requires one of several options to permit legal online casino gambling.

Foreign operators will be required to apply for a license to operate in Estonia. But, for those already licensed elsewhere who decide acquiring an Estonian permit may not be economical, the country will allow subcontracting between licensed state operators and foreign online casinos.

Licensing in Estonia will depend on type or types of gaming intended. Companies must show themselves to be properly incorporated and capitalized, and submit to background checks.

Online casinos must have age checking and responsible gaming programs. Servers determining game results must be on Estonian land and accessible to regulators or independent auditors.

For unlicensed online casinos without Estonian partnership, Internet service providers will be required to block access if informed a site is operating illegally. Money transfers by payment processors is also forbidden if the processor is notified the casino is illegally running.