Lithuania MPs have voted in favor of a bill that will ban gambling ads across the nation. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Lithuania has announced a new ban on gambling advertising to be implemented from next July.

The amendment to Lithuanian law passed through the parliament on Tuesday, with 73 votes in favor and one abstention. The date of implementations has an exception for sports competitions and events, in addition to sports sponsorships and broadcasts of sports competitions. They have a transition period until January 2028.

The country will compensate media organizations for lost advertising, however. The Media Support Fund is a budget including €4m ($4.2m) for this purpose.

There is a transitional period until the end of 2027 which will allow up to three betting ad spots of under 15 seconds each per hour on television, radio, and online between 6am and 6pm, in addition to two per hour between 6pm and midnight. Meanwhile, betting ads without a direct link to the gambling operator’s website will be limited to 20% of advertising space from 6am to 6pm and 10% for the 6pm to midnight gap.

Lithuania is taking the same tactic employed by Italy in June 2018

In banning gambling ads, Lithuania is taking the same tactic employed by Italy in June 2018. The nation introduced a ban on gambling ads, including sports sponsorships, in an effort to tackle gambling-related harm. However, some argue that the ban has done more harm than good.

In a statement on its website in 2023, the European Betting and Gaming Association (EGBA) said the ban is “clearly favoring the black market and should be revised.” The body highlighted a meteoric rise in black market gambling in Italy in 2023, up to €25bn ($26.47bn) per year, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. The EGBA argues that bans make it difficult for gamblers to differentiate between legal and illegal gambling options.