Poker Capital of Eastern Europe

Don't let the cobbled streets and medieval towers fool you, Tallinn is all about gambling. It is currently riding on the crest of a gambling boom that is bringing joy and gloom to its residents.

The capital city of Estonia has a population of only 400,000 souls and has a rapidly growing gambling-addicted section to its population. The city's 90 casinos are pulling in gamblers from across Europe and the country at large is profiting from the money they leave on the tables and in the growing ranks of slot machines.

On the dark side, it appears that the Estonians are poor losers and many have opted for suicide rather than trying to get their losses back. A newly established anti-casino movement is even demanding a monument to commemorate gambling victims.

Casinos began appearing in the early 1990s when people were still not aware of the possibility of the devastating consequences of gambling losses. Ten years later people started hearing about those who had serious gambling problems resulting in broken families, lost jobs, criminal records for stealing money, suicides, etc.

The general attitude towards casinos in Estonia is liberal. One sees casinos everywhere when walking about in Tallinn. For approximately 1.4 million Estonians there are 169 casinos, a relatively high ratio.

There is a group pushing a plan to build artificial casino islands in the sea off Tallinn and put all the casinos there, away from the city.

Last year gambling taxes amounted to around 30 million Euros and the government is in a quandary - half wanting to stop the spreading addiction and half wanting to maintain the additional tax income.

The city council is debating closing down casinos in the vicinity of schools and in residential areas, but this will require changes in zoning laws. "We have to regulate gambling better," says the chairman of the Estonian Association of Gambling Operators.