The Lithuanian government recently increased its pressure on illegal gambling by adopting drastic changes to its regulations. This is to safeguard consumers, enhance market transparency, and restrain the activities of unauthorised gambling operators in the country.

Overview of Lithuania’s new regulations

One of the cornerstone changes in Lithuania’s gambling regulation is the restriction of payment methods to unauthorised gambling operators. Lithuania now mandates financial institutions to block credit and debit card transactions directed towards gambling operators not included on the government’s official “white list”. This list contains companies legally licensed to operate in Lithuania, so only these operators can process payments from Lithuanian consumers.

The amendments grant more powers to Lithuania’s Gaming Supervisory Authority (LPT). The agency now requires more detailed transaction data to ensure compliance with legal standards and make it easier to track illicit activities.

Lithuania has also taken steps to encourage responsible gambling. The government has increased the legal age for gambling to 21. It has implemented higher licensing fees to discourage gambling addiction and ensure that operators prioritise the well-being of their consumers.

Operators must now follow stricter reporting standards and keep comprehensive records of their transactions and activities. This requirement will help create a transparent gambling environment where consumers and regulators can operate confidently. Transparency in the gambling sector is important for maintaining consumer trust and market integrity.

Supervision by LPT

The new rules are implemented by the LPT to oversee the compliance of the operators in the market. This ensures competition and fairness among the operators while creating a favourable and competitive environment that benefits consumers as well as law-abiding businesses. It is now quite challenging for rogue gambling websites to process any transaction since banks block transactions on the non-compliant operators.

Financial institutions found transmitting funds to unauthorised operators will stand the risk of incurring heavy fines. Managers and responsible persons at non-compliant institutions risk incurring penalties in the range of €1,800 to €3,800. These fines are intended as a deterrent to the financial service providers to stave off non-compliance with the new rules.

Impact on Lithuania’s gambling sector

By limiting the operations of illegal platforms, Lithuania creates a safer environment for legal operators which would lead to a healthy competitive mix and ultimately stimulate investments in gambling operations. Starting from July 2025, gambling advertisements will have stricter controls that will reduce them to a greater extent both in the online and offline media. This is done to reduce the exposure of vulnerable populations to gambling-related promotional activities.

Between 2016 and 2024, the country successfully blocked 1,809 illegal gambling sites, testifying to its efforts to maintain a legal gambling space. This was in line with broader European efforts to enhance consumer protection and combat illegal gambling. Many European countries are strengthening their gambling regulations, and Lithuania’s move is in line with this continental trend to increase control as well as consumer protection.