Hi,
I have received some feedback from our legal department and their point of view.
The new law entered into force in January 2009, and the provision related to online gambling the 1st January 2010.
Gaming operators need to ask a licence if they want to continue their activities in Estonia.
Operators without a licence issued by the Estonian Tax and Customer Board will be considered as illegal even if they are duly licenced in other EU Member States. ISP/PSP blocking measures and penal disposition shall apply to these operators.
It’s our opinion(and EGBA) that the law, in several aspects, does not comply with EU law and imposes restrictive measures on remote gambling operators, which are not justified by overriding reasons of general interest, as required by EU law. Even if the restrictions were to pursue overriding reasons of general interest, the restrictive measures imposed by the EGA do not pass the four-step test of necessity, proportionality, consistency and non-discrimination developed by the European Court of Justice.
We believe that consumer choice and technology will make legal restrictions unsustainable and ineffective, and still think that the Art 56 (ex-49) related to the free trade and free choice in the EU, prevails on national law.
All the best,
Gustav