Estonia Reverses Ban on Online Gambling

Good news from Estonia.

The government of Estonia has approved the legalization of online gambling, reversing a previous law that banned servers located in the tiny Baltic state from hosting gambling.

Under the previous regulations, sites could only be located on servers located outside the country. Offshore sites will now be blocked for the time being, but according to the Estonia Free Press that condition will be lifted in 2011 to low competition from both local and foreign online gambling operators.

Some Estonians, including poker professional Imre Leibold, have said the market would be forced to open or the country would lose gambling businesses.

"The possibility that online poker gaming could be restricted is not good news for us," Leibold told Estonian newspaper the Baltic Times. "If things get tough, one may have to consider moving residence or start working abroad like Estonian builders in Finland."

As in other countries, the government made the changes after coming to the realization that gambling could be used to increase state revenue. Sites that provide services to Estonians will now be required to buy a license, and in addition will be charged a 5 percent sales tax.

Like Germany and France, Estonia's about-face makes it the latest European Union country to ignore EU regulations requiring member states to accept each other's gambling regulations.

Meanwhile, neighboring Lithuania is also reportedly planning new laws that would see it legalize and regulate Internet gambling. Land-based gambling was legalized in the former Soviet state in 2001.

Learn more about the online gambling choices in Estonia at the local version of Online Casino Reports Estonia.