In Estonia, there has been an increase in the number of gambling advertisements in recent years and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications is seeking to strike a balance between the freedom to conduct business and consumer protection.
Diana Lints from the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) said almost half of the gambling advertisements inspected fail to comply with the law.
“In 2025, the TTJA carried out a major gambling advertising supervision project and inspected a total of 230 gambling advertisements, of which 104 were found to be in breach. That means 45 per cent of the advertisements inspected were in violation of the Advertising Act,” Lints said.
“Those breaches varied considerably. They included misleading advertising, warning text in gambling advertisements that did not meet the legal requirements, and games of chance advertisements which, under the law, are prohibited altogether.”
Mari-Liis Aas, consumer protection adviser at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, said there are multiple types of gambling restrictions.
“For example, if we are talking about games of chance, which include poker, roulette and slot machines, then advertising is generally prohibited altogether, except in places specified by law, such as gambling venues. At the same time, advertising certain types of gambling, such as lotteries and sports betting, is more broadly permitted, although specific restrictions also apply there,” she explained.
But Aas said the Advertising Act is being updated. “But since the entire process is still at a very early stage, it is unfortunately not yet possible to say whether or to what extent gambling advertising regulation will be changed in the future,” she said.
