Economics of Gambling in Estonia - Lotteries

There are currently issued 18 permits for enterprises, which organize gambling-related activities in 163 locations in Estonia. There are also four permits for lottery organisers.

Estonian Gambling Market 2003:

Company >>> Number of employees >>> Turnover >>> Description
Eesti Loto >>> 54 >>> € 1.023m >>> The largest lottery company. In 2000 joint Voking Lottery – Scandinavian lottery game
Bristol >>> 1 >>> € 0.479m >>> Non-for-profit organisation and second largest lottery company in Estonia. Launched 7 types of instant lotteries
Play-in Casino Group >>> 125 >>> N/A >>> Operates 17 casinos (4 in Tallinn)
Kristiine Kasiino >>> 100 >>> € 2.403m >>> Operates 8 gaming halls. Full subsidiary of KC group, which deals with property development, management and nvestment in other businesses.
MC Kasiinod >>> 180 >>> € 5.611m >>> The oldest casino chain (operates since 1990)
Kingpin Management >>> 28 >>> € 4.972m >>> Operates Casino London in Tallinn
Videomat Casino Group >>> 280 >>> N/A >>> Operates 26 halls with 500 gaming machines in 11 towns
Totalisaator >>> 20 >>> € 0.479m >>> Arranges horse race betting and other sports betting from Tallinn’s race court.
Olympic Casino Group >>> 263 >>> € 15.396m >>> Largest gambling operator in terms of profit and turnover in Baltic countries.
Domiinos >>> N/A >>> N/A >>> Operates Bally’s Casino
Dolphin >>> 102 >>> N/A >>> Operates 8 halls with slot machines and table games
ELC >>> Approx 100 >>> N/A >>> Operates 3 gaming halls
Nordic Gaming >>> Approx 60 >>> N/A >>> Operates Viking Casinos and Viking Clubs with poll tables, gambling tables and slot machines.
Novoloto >>> Approx 70 >>> € 6.091m >>> Operates 10 slot machines across gaming halls and in addition on two ships
Pafer >>> 25 >>> € 3.528m >>> Operates gaming tables and slots on ships that sail between Tallinn and Helsinki
Jentero >>> 5 >>> € 0.147m >>> Operates billiard saloons with slot machines and gaming halls
Mäng >>> 22 >>> € 0.211m >>> Operates 110 gaming halls

Note: Conversion rate: 1 EUR = 15.65 EEK

Source: Adapted from the GBGC Report

There were 14 gambling operators in Estonia employing about 1,700 people in 2002. There are approximately 2,500 people employed in the lottery distribution system. The GGRs of Estonia’s betting and gaming industry was more than €41m by 2002. (GBGC Report)

GAMING SECTOR ANALYSIS

Lotteries

The state lottery in Estonia, Eesti Loto, was founded in 1991. It had been preceded by a lottery run by the Soviet State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports. Eesti Loto offers instant tickets, lotto, keno and bingo. Eesti Loto comprises about 85% of Estonian lottery market sales, and a second company, Bristol, generates about 10% of lottery sales. The remaining 5% is divided among a number of small companies.

Estonian Lottery Market Shared by Operators 2004:

Source: Centre for the Study of gambling, Salford, own analysis.

Eesti Lotto Statistics (2000-2009)

Source: Adapted from Submission to the Enquiry from Eesti Loto

Note: Statistics for 2005-2009 are estimated

Eesti Lotto Statistics 2000-2009 (in thousand €):

Year >>> Turnover >>> Winnings (%) >>> GGR
2000 >>> 7,372 >>> 50 >>> 3,686
2001 >>> 8,833 >>> 50 >>> 4,417
2002 >>> 10,155 >>> 50 >>> 5,078
2003 >>> 11,123 >>> 50 >>> 5,562
2004 >>> 13,562 >>> 50 >>> 6,781
2005 >>> 15,000* >>> 50 >>> 7,500*
2006 >>> 17,000* >>> 50 >>> 8,500*
2007 >>> 19,500* >>> 50 >>> 9,750*
2008 >>> 22,500* >>> 50 >>> 11,250*
2009 >>> 25,000* >>> 50 >>> 12,500*

* Estimated

Source: Submission to the Enquiry from Eesti Loto

Based on the assumption that Eesti Loto accounts for 85% of the market, the total Estionian lottery market is as follows:

Estonian Lottery Market GGR 2000-2004 (in million €):

Year >>> Turnover >>> GGR
2000 >>> 8.67 >>> 4.34
2001 >>> 10.39 >>> 5.20
2002 >>> 11.95 >>> 5.97
2003 >>> 13.09 >>> 6.54
2004 >>> 15.96 >>> 7.98

Source: Centre for the Study of gambling, Salford, own analysis.

The lottery operators pay 10% tax on number games and 18% tax on instant games. The license fee is about €51 per game and given for a maximum 3 years. There are no other fees and VAT that operators need to pay. They also don’t have to make any mandatory payments to good causes

According to the Estonian Consumer Protection Board 2004 study, 50% per cent of the people surveyed responded that they purchase lottery tickets. Of the entire population, 2% purchase tickets every week, 6% at least once a month and 42% less than once a month.

The following table provides detailed sales figures by lottery product type for the years 2002 and 2003:

Lottery Market in Estonia 2002-2003:

Game >>> 2003 Sales in EEKm (€ million) >>> 2003 % Share of Sales >>> 2002 Sales in EEKm (€ million) >>> 2002 % Share of Sales >>> % Change 2002/03
Viking lotto >>> 55.071(3.520) >>> 31.59% >>> 53.075(3.392) >>> 33.46% >>> 3.76%
Bingo lotto >>> 65.951(4.215) >>> 37.83% >>> 61.563(3.935) >>> 38.81% >>> 7.13%
Keno-lotto >>> 20.601(1.317) >>> 11.82% >>> 17.405(1.112) >>> 10.97% >>> 18.36%
Euroloto >>> 0.239(0.015) >>> 0.14% >>> 4.585(0.293) >>> 2.89% >>> -94.79%
Summ >>> 16.624(1.062) >>> 9.54% >>> n/a >>> n/a >>> n/a
Loodusloto >>> 2.439(0.156) >>> 1.40% >>> 2.898(0.185) >>> 1.83% >>> -15.83%
Lotosport >>> 2.17(0.139) >>> 1.24% >>> 4.146(0.265) >>> 2.61% >>> -47.66%
Vitamiin >>> 4.335(0.277) >>> 2.49% >>> 3.217(0.206) >>> 2.03% >>> 34.76%
Horoskoop >>> 2 4.738(0.303) >>> 2.72% >>> 4.286(0.274) >>> 2.70% >>> 10.56%
Jah-ei >>> 1.85(0.118) >>> 1.06% >>> n/a >>> n/a >>> n/a
Kuldpall >>> 0.314(0.020) >>> 0.18% >>> n/a >>> n/a >>> n/a
Eurovision >>> n/a >>> n/a >>> 2.48635(0.159) >>> 1.57% >>> n/a
Horoskoop >>> n/a >>> n/a >>> 0.98289(0.063) >>> 0.62% >>> n/a
Kroonika weekend >>> n/a >>> n/a >>> 2.20284(0.141) >>> 1.39% >>> n/a
Onnesoov >>> n/a >>> n/a >>> 0.10843(0.007) >>> 0.07% >>> n/a
Presidendiloto >>> n/a >>> n/a >>> 0.07985(0.005) >>> 0.05% >>> n/a
Vido >>> n/a >>> n/a >>> 1.58393(0.101) >>> 1.00% >>> n/a
Total >>> 174.332(11.142) >>> 100.00% >>> 158.6173(10.137) >>> 100.00% >>> 9.91%

Source: Adapted from the GBGC Report

A recent Lottery Bill has increased the supervision of lottery organisers and the proportion of profits generated by lottery games to be paid to the Government in duty. Estonian interest in Regional/Nordic lotteries is waning, despite higher prize payouts, due to a lack of big prizewinners. During September 2003 Wincor Nixdorf International and Siemens signed a contract with Eesti Lotto AS to deliver 335 lottery terminals. Overall, there are currently 2500 lottery vendors operating in Estonia. Eesti Loto also launched its online services in December 2001.