Estonia’s Top 8 Online Casinos and Why I Chose Them

My criteria or how I picked out the best online casinos in Estonia

• Reputation. I always start my research at this point, because other parameters don’t matter if an online casino is known for lack of respect from their customers or even conduct the business in “semi-scammy” way.

• License verification. Every trustworthy online casino must have a license of some gambling jurisdiction. Some licenses (UK, Malta, Gibraltar, Alderney) are more strict than others (Curacao). However, in the end not the license but the casino’s approach to doing business matters more. Anyway, all casinos’ licenses have been verified by myself on gambling commissions’ websites, hence be sure that they have it.

• Security (consists of two parts: account security and software validity). At this stage, I assess how personal data at an online casino are being treated (the “red flag” for me would be the email spamming). Then I validate that software at an online casino is not fake (How to detect fake online slots?).

• Responsiveness (customer service). Once a casino has successfully passed the previous three parts, I search through all related threads on gambling forums trying to establish how long it usually takes from the casino to resolve player’s issues. Having a 24/7 live chat is always a huge advantage in my eyes.

• Variety of games. All modern online casinos should have a wide selection of casino games on their platforms. I would not consider an online casino to include in my “Top 8” if it didn’t have at least 10 high-quality software developers, which provide players with hundreds of slots and most popular table games. Live games also need to be in place.

• Documents and verification. Every legit online casino has to implement KYC (know your customer) policy, otherwise, it would not have acquired a gambling license. The truth is it can be done very differently. Within a few minutes via a website form or it could take days in less responsible casinos. I am sure, you have already guessed which casinos I have placed here.

• Bonuses and promotions. As a rule of thumb, reliable online casinos introduce somewhat similar bonus policy (something around 100% up to 100 EUR with 40x wager is deemed decent). However, an online casino has to have promotions (at least a sign-up bonus) in order to become a part of my rating.

• Deposit/withdrawal policy. Having multiple deposit and withdrawal options is a big part of the overall user experience. The player is happy only when at least bank cards and the most popular e-wallets are in place. Also, I check that local currency (EUR in the case with Estonia) can be set as a currency for the account. It allows to avoid additional fees which nobody is eager to pay.

• Design and user-friendliness. Last but not least comes how the website looks and works in general. I understand that this belongs to the realm of personal preferences. However, I would suggest that nobody likes slow loading or painted in annoying colors websites.

Summing up, I would like to emphasize one more time that all the criteria are relevant (for example, I would not include an online casino in my rating with over-complicated verification procedure even if its parameters were perfect), but casino’s reputation and its history of dealing with player’s issues matter the most.

Legal aspects of gambling in Estonia

As I have mentioned before, all online (and offline) gambling activities are absolutely legal in Estonia. It has been clearly stated by the Gambling Act (passed 15.10.2008) so that every resident can enjoy playing at modern casino websites.

Legal age. According to § 33 of Gambling Act (General obligations of gambling operator upon the organisation of gambling), persons under 21 years of age are not allowed to participate in any gambling activities, with the exception of lotteries (Why government lotteries are the biggest scam?) for which it is set to be 16 years old.

Taxes. According to § 1 of the Gambling Tax Act (passed 22.04.2009 following Gambling Act), only gambling operators are obliged to pay gambling taxes. As a player, you are exempt from such expenses.

Self-exclusion. To date, Estonia has not implemented any centralized services for people with gambling addiction to exclude themselves from online gambling as the UK, for example, has done. However, it can be done anyway at each online casino from my list.

Bonuses for Estonian players

When it comes to bonuses, Estonia does not prohibit their citizens from getting bonuses at online casinos, like some other countries do (for example, Sweden), which is a fair approach as for me.

Therefore, you, as an Estonian resident, will be able to claim not only to sign up bonuses (each casino in my list has got a welcome bonus package) but in many cases, reload bonuses as well.

Payment methods at online casinos for Estonian citizens

Being highly integrated into European and world economy, Estonia can boast well-developed financial sector. So to say, Estonian citizens have access to top-notch online payment options.

All casinos from my rating allow to open an account and set EUR as account’s currency.

Top 3 payment methods in Estonia which I would prefer to use as deposit/withdrawal method at online casinos:

• E-wallets: Neteller, Skrill, EcoPays. The main advantage of them that all transactions are usually processed within minutes. Another amazing thing that those e-wallets issue debit cards on their own. Thus, you will be able to get cash at ATM right after you transaction has been processed, assuming you have ordered the card beforehand.

• Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, BitcoinCash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin. It takes some efforts to figure out how to deposit at an online casino with cryptocurrency works, but it definitely worth spent time, because the fees are lower. For example, as an Estonian citizen, you can buy Bitcoin on Binance with VISA, and then deposit those funds at an online casino. I have an article about how to do so. Also it can be dome with Ethereum and Dogecoin as well.

• Bank cards (debit or credit). It gets the job done, but withdrawal from an online casino to a bank card is going to take a few days, which is an obvious disadvantage of this method. But considering that almost anyone has a bank card nowadays in Estonia, I can give this method a credit for accessibility.

Some other payment options are available for Estonian casino players, they vary a little bit from one casino to another, but be sure, you will be able to choose something suitable.

Casino Games offered for players from Estonia

As we all know, some casino games are not available in some countries (Why Some Online Slots are not Available in Some Countries?). Software producers set these restrictions due to either local laws or copyrights limitations.

I have analyzed “Terms and Conditions” of all 8 casinos and found that only Netent has some restrictions for Estonian players, namely, gambling operator must have an Estonian license in order to let Estonian players to play in Netent slots.

As for other casino games, such as Roulette, Baccarat, Craps, Blackjack, Video Poker, Scratch cards, Keno, Bingo, they are all available at Estonian online casinos with no limitations.

Another important thing to mention, that Estonian casino players are welcome to try their luck in progressive online slots (except for Netent in some cases). It allows to have an opportunity to hit an enormous winning worth sometimes millions of euro.

Are online casinos secure for Estonian players?

Since online gambling is legal in Estonia there are no such security concerns as, for example, being prosecuted.

All casinos' websites from my list have proven their reliability both in terms of cybersecurity and responsible handling of your personal data. I have spent hours on the internet trying to establish it with 100% confidence and wasn’t proven wrong so far.

However, there are some necessary measures from the player’s side to be taken:

• set up 2FA (two-factor authentication) for your email address

• set up 2FA if the online casino you are playing at has such option

• make your password long enough, at least 12 symbols

Live games

Live games is another cool feature of modern online casinos, and Estonian casino players can take full advantage of it.

All table games (Craps, Blackjack, Baccarat) and Roulette are getting implemented with “live dealer” feature. In this way, you can get, at least at some extent, land-based casino experience without leaving your apartment.

Some questions you may ask

Do Estonian players need to pass verification? Yes, it is a basic requirement for all nationalities. ID, driving license or international passport (usually one of them) and you are good to go (about verification at an online casino).

Where should Estonian players complaint if online casino misbehaved? You can submit such a complaint to gambling authority, which issued the casino’s license. Another option is to do so on my website.

Do Estonian players need to prove Source of Funds? It happens very occasionally since online casinos are not prone to scare off their customers. But in case of relatively big winnings (30,000 euro +), you could be asked to prove that the money you have deposited at an online casino was obtained legally. I have the whole article regarding those matters.

Mobile online casinos

All online casinos that I have grabbed for you have got a mobile version of it. Hence, does not matter which device you use (tablet or smartphone), it is not going to become an obstacle.