For twenty years the Republic of Lithuania has been following the path of civilized development of the gambling business, fixed by the standards of the European Union. But it was not always so. In the mid-1990s, gambling was considered illegal in the country, and discussions about the legalization of gambling caused fierce controversy. The state managed to overcome the contradictions in society and legislate the strict regulation of games for money.

• Gambling business in the recent history of Lithuania
• Gambling ban
• Gambling legalization
• Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Gambling
• The emergence of the first casinos and the economic effect of the legalization of gambling
• Lithuanian casinos
• Changes in the law on gambling business in 2015 year
• Changes in the law in 2019-2020
• Main trends in the development of the Lithuanian gambling market

Gambling business in the recent history of Lithuania

Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to announce its withdrawal from the USSR. The act on the restoration of the independent state of Lithuania was signed on March 11, 1990, and the sovereignty of the country was recognized by the Soviet authorities only six months later. But by that time, a new law on enterprises was already in force in Lithuania. This document officially recognized the right of citizens to conduct private business. Among the first commercial enterprises were firms that brought slot machines into the country and installed slot machines in cities.

Orientation towards building a capitalist society became a key trend.

Emerged two and a half years before the adoption of the Constitution In independent Lithuania, the law on enterprises provided freedom of action for all people who decided to start their own business and earn money.

There were no obstacles to the development of the gambling business.

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Overview

The provisions of the law were of a general nature, and minor restrictions for engaging in certain types of entrepreneurship were established by special orders and by-laws. But the passion for gambling has not become widespread. The “one-armed bandits” installed in hotels and shopping centers were not popular among Lithuanians, so entrepreneurs were in no hurry to open gambling halls and casinos.

Prohibition of gambling

In January 1994, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania adopted amendments to the law on enterprises that prohibited gambling in the country . These changes have gone largely unnoticed by society. It was still possible to find slot machines in the cities, but now they were not located in specially equipped halls, but appeared in crowded public places, even in the Vilnius metro. But only lottery operators and organizers of the bingo game, which was equated to lottery draws, worked legally on the market.

The first bingo parlor appeared in Vilnius in the Palanga restaurant in 1994. In 1997, the Kauno Bingo hall was opened in the building of the former Metropolis restaurant. The locals used to visit these establishments for entertainment. The game of bingo has become a civilized form of leisure, but was not very popular among Lithuanians. Under the current legislation, salon owners were forced to give 70% of their income to charity.

Gambling legalization

Gambling legalization talks began in Lithuania at the end of 1990 -X. Supporters of the emergence of casinos argued that the state budget annually loses large sums due to the current ban on gambling. With the opening of gambling establishments, the country will become more attractive in the eyes of foreign tourists, and gambling Lithuanians will stop traveling to neighboring countries to try their luck in slot machine halls. By that time, casinos and gambling parlors were legally operating in Latvia, Poland and the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation, located nearby.

The idea of ​​legalization met with fierce resistance from representatives of the Catholic Church. Prominent ministers, whose opinion the Lithuanians traditionally listened to, launched a large-scale campaign to denigrate gambling, calling it an unholy occupation. The priests linked the passion for gambling with the decline in public morals, the growth of crime and the development of prostitution. Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius was an irreconcilable fighter against gambling.

Despite the strong influence of the Catholic Church in the country, the Lithuanian authorities made a political decision to legalize gambling. In the early 2000s, Lithuania headed towards joining the European Union and had to bring its legislation in line with common European standards. The compromise was the introduction of strict regulation of gambling by the state. Until now, the Lithuanian gambling law is considered the most stringent in Europe.

Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Gambling

Law No. IX-325 "On Gambling" was signed by the President of the Republic Valdas Adamkus on May 17, 2001, and all its provisions came into force on July 1 of the same year. At the same time, government decrees were adopted on the establishment of a state commission for the supervision of gambling and on the approval of licensing rules.

The text of the document gave a clear definition of gambling, it included games for money in casinos (in the law, these establishments are called gambling houses), bets in bookmakers and sweepstakes. The list of permitted entertainment included slot machines, roulette, craps, cards, bingo and sports betting.

Basic Provisions law

• Gambling is permitted throughout the country.
• Regulatory functions are transferred to the State Commission for the Supervision of Gambling (in 2012 it was renamed the Service and included in the structure of the Ministry of Finance) .
• The organizer must obtain a license corresponding to the chosen type of activity: casino, slot machine hall, bingo parlor, betting shop or bookmaker's office.
• Gambling establishments cannot be located in residential buildings, in institutions education, medicine and culture, in shops, at railway stations and airports.
• Slot machines are divided into two categories (A and B) with different restrictions on their use and must be certified initiated. The production of gambling equipment and software for it in Lithuania is prohibited.
• Persons over 18 years of age are allowed to place bets in betting shops, bingo parlors and slot machine halls, in casinos - from 21 years old. 928

Главным препятствием для выхода компаний на игорный рынок стала непростая процедура получения лицензии и требования к финансовому состоянию операторов. Для оформления разрешений акционерные общества должны были пройти многоступенчатую проверку и получить одобрение Департамента государственной безопасности, Службы по расследованию финансовых преступлений и Департамента полиции при Министерстве внутренних дел.

The license fee was set at 10,000 litas ($2,500) , an additional state fee was charged from 2,000 to 30,000 litas for the opening of each land-based betting shop, gambling hall and casino.

The minimum authorized capital of companies was fixed at the level of 1 million Litas for holders of slot machine halls, betting shops or bingo parlors and 4 million Litas for casinos. In addition, the owners of the establishments were obliged to form guarantee funds at the rate of 40 thousand litas for one gaming table, 25 thousand litas for each category A slot machine and 300 litas for a category B slot machine. machines, and the casino had to have at least 3 tables and 30 slot machines.

Equipment was subject to special taxation rules. For each machine, depending on the category, it was necessary to pay 600 or 1800 litas per quarter, for a table for playing cards or dice - 12,000 litas. At that time, the value of the national currency was pegged to the dollar at a rate of 4:1. A tax of 15% was withheld annually from the profits of establishments.

Separation of slot machines by categories

The legislators prescribed clear requirements for equipment in the document - slot machines were divided into two categories: A and B. This was done in order to provide transparent conditions for the use of slot machines for owners of gambling establishments and players.

The law obliges the owners of casinos and gaming salons to immediately pay out winnings in the amount of up to 100,000 Litas in cash. Larger amounts were allowed to be transferred to a bank account within 24 hours.

Commission for the Supervision of Gambling

The seriousness of the state's intentions regarding the regulation of gambling was laid down in the principles of the formation of the Commission for the Supervision of Gambling gambling (State Gaming Control Commission). Only citizens of the Republic of Lithuania could enter its composition. Two members of the Commission for a period of 5 years were appointed by the president, two others by the chairman of the Seimas, and two more by the prime minister. This created a balanced representation that served the interests of the whole society.

The commission was tasked with making decisions on issuing licenses and monitoring compliance by companies with the provisions of current legislation. In 2012, the Commission was officially renamed the Gaming Control Authority. Since the beginning of 2015, the department has been headed by Virginijus Daukšys.

The emergence of the first casinos and the economic effect of the legalization of gambling

The first Lithuanian license to create a casino and slot machine halls was issued in May 2002, and the first casino opened in Vilnius on Gedemina Avenue in September 2002. It was a gambling establishment Olympic Casino. Soon, Casino Planet, City Casino, Grand Casino World and several halls with slot machines appeared in the capital of Lithuania. The first Lithuanian casino outside the capital was the Nese gambling house in Klaipeda. Then gambling entertainment officially came to Kaunas, Panevezys, Siauliai.

The first year of market development under the new rules showed modest results. By the end of 2002, there were 4 casinos, 6 slot machine halls and 3 betting shops in Lithuania. The country's authorities had high hopes for the replenishment of the state budget through taxes from the gambling business, but the excessive severity of the law did not allow the estimated figure of 15 million litas (3.8 million dollars) to be reached during the first year of the casino's existence.

According to the results of 2002, only 2.5 million litas (650 thousand dollars) came to the treasury from gambling companies. Investors were in no hurry to invest in an overly regulated market. Estimating the total amount of fees, the first head of the Commission for the Supervision of Gambling, Česlovas Blazhis, suggested that tax deductions would reach 25-30 million litas after 5-6 years of industry development.

In 2003, a complete list of gambling establishments in Lithuania included 11 casinos, 21 slot machine halls, 1 bingo salon and 58 sports betting shops. In the same year, Lithuanians spent about 177 million litas (over $46 million) on gambling entertainment. For a country with a population of 3.45 million, this meant that, on average, each Lithuanian allocated 51 litas per year (about $13.5) for bets from his own budget.

By the end of the first decade after the adoption of the law, there were 28 casinos, 99 gambling halls and 137 bookmaker offices in the country, and budget revenues amounted to 50 .3 million litas (about $19 million).

By 2020, there were 17 casinos in Lithuania (eight in Vilnius, four in Klaipeda, two each in Kaunas and Siauliai, and one in Panevezys), 201 gambling halls machines and 129 sports betting shops. There are 550 category A slot machines and 3334 category B slot machines registered in the country.

Lithuanian casinos

Most of Lithuanian gambling establishments operate in Vilnius. The center of gambling is considered to be the most famous metropolitan shopping and entertainment center Akropolis, located a 10-minute drive from the Old Town. It has two casinos and a sports betting shop. The leading position in the gambling market is occupied by the Olympic Casino Group Baltija, which owns 8 out of 17 legal casinos and a small network of halls.

Olympic Casino

The largest casino operating under the Olympic brand is located on Constitution Avenue in Vilnius. It is located in the five-star Radisson Blu hotel in the center of the Lithuanian capital and is considered the largest in the country. Olympic Casino Lietuva has 14 gaming tables with American roulette, blackjack, poker and 70 modern video slots on an area of ​​more than 1800 square meters. On the territory of the gambling house there is a poker club, a bar, a restaurant, soon a sports betting center is expected to open there.

The second largest the capital's casino "Olympic" is located in the shopping center "Acropolis". Also operating in Lithuania are Olympic Casino Gedimino and Olympic Casino Stotis in Vilnius, Olympic Donelaitis in Kaunas, Olympic Amberton in Klaipeda, Olympic Šiauliai in Siauliai and Olympic Ryo in Panevėžys.

Olympic Casino Group Baltija is part of Olympic Entertainment Group, founded in Estonia in 1993. The group is a key player in the gambling market in the Baltic countries, operates its own casinos in Slovakia, Italy and Malta, and is also actively developing a network of bookmakers and sports bars under the OlyBet brand. In the mid-2000s, the founder of the Olympic Entertainment Group, Armin Karu, topped the list of the richest people in Estonia, and the co-owner of the concern, Jaan Korpusov, ranked third in this list.

In 2018, the corporation was bought out by Odyssey Europe, part of the Luxembourg holding Novalpina. The value of the transaction was estimated at 288 million euros.

Admiral and Tornado casinos, a network of halls Admiral Club

Lithuanian company VSGA, which is part of the famous Austrian gambling concern Johan Graf's Novomatic Group, owns 6 gambling houses in the country: two casinos "Admiral" and four "Tornado".

The largest casino Admiral is located in the metropolitan shopping center "Acropolis". Players are encouraged to try their luck at American roulette and four blackjack and poker tables. But the hallmark of establishments managed by VSGA are Novomatic slot machines. More than 40 video slots, including the most popular gaminators Book of Ra, Lucky Lady's Charm, Sizzling Hot and others, are installed in the Vilnius "Acropolis" on the territory of the "Admiral" casino, combined into a single jackpot system. The second Lithuanian gambling establishment under the Admiral Casino brand is located in the Akropolis shopping and entertainment complex in the center of Kaunas.

The oldest VSGA casino is located in the elite district of Vilnius Antakalnis and operates under the Tornado sign. It has 5 tables for card games, American roulette and more than 30 slot machines. The institution provides two halls for VIP players. Another well-known branded casino operates in Vilnius on Šeškinė Street, two others in Klaipeda and Šiauliai.

Another operator owned by Novomatic Group, Novogaming Vilnius, officially operates in Lithuania. It operates a network of 19 Admiral Club slot machine halls. In addition to large cities, salons are located in very small settlements with a population of 5,000 to 50,000 people: Alytus, Gargzdai, Druskininkai, Kybartai, Marijampole, Utena, Salchininkai.

Usually, gambling halls are located in small detached buildings and operate around the clock. There is a bar for visitors, in some establishments there are points for receiving sports bets. The entire network of Admiral Club salons in Lithuania serves about 2,000 people daily.

Casino Nese

In 2002, the first Nesė casino, owned by the company of the same name, was opened in the center of Klaipeda. This is a luxurious establishment with modern interiors, which has 3 American roulettes, 6 card tables and 30 slot machines. Despite the imposing size of the building, the owners managed to create a cozy and calm environment here, in which guests can relax and immerse themselves in the game. This is facilitated by a high level of customer service. The establishment has an Irish whiskey bar.

Klaipeda, located on the Baltic Sea coast, was chosen by Nesė as the main place for the development of the gambling business. The company was founded in 1991 and was originally engaged in the creation and management of hotels and restaurants. After the adoption of the law on the legalization of gambling, the scope of the company's interests expanded.

Now there are a total of two Nesė casinos and three gaming clubs under the Nesė sign in Klaipeda slots. Another casino and slot machine hall is hosting visitors in Vilnius. The NeseSport betting direction is actively developing with the acceptance of sports bets on the Internet.

The sole owner of all companies included in the Nesė Group is a businessman, vice-president of the Klaipeda Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Craft Kazys Paulikas.

Tete-a-tete gaming clubs

Tete-a-tete Casino is the largest chain of slot machine halls in Lithuania. It includes 90 clubs, which is almost half of all legally registered salons in the country. The strategy of developing the network in small towns with the expectation of visitors with an average income was chosen as the key one.

Slot machine halls began to appear in towns with a population of up to 10,000 people: Joniškis, Kupiškis, Skuodas and others. Several salons operate in Alytus, Jonava, Kretinga, Mazeikiai, Plunga, Taurage, Telsiai, Utena, Jurbarkas. Most of the halls under the Tete-a-tete sign are located in Kaunas - 20, even in the capital there are fewer of them - only 12. Gambling clubs have also appeared in the villages of Dukstinos, Parokishkes and others located on major highways.

Tete-a-tete Casino Closed Joint Stock Company was founded in January 2003. The company owns 1,617 category B gaming machines, which is almost 50% of all gambling equipment of this type in Lithuania. The founder and main beneficiary of the company is Samoylas Kachas.

UniClub chain of stores

UniGames occupies a prominent place in the gambling market in Lithuania. It owns an extensive network of 34 UniClub salons, each of which has 10 to 30 slot machines. Most clubs operate in Vilnius - a total of 14 establishments, 5 in Klaipeda, 3 in Kaunas, one each in the cities of Anyksciai, Visaginas, Kaišiadorys, Kedainiai, Mazeikiai, Marijampolė, Prienai, Ukmerge, Utena, Šalcininkai and Šiauliai.

The Lithuanian-Lithuanian company UniGames was founded in 2001, received a license to organize and conduct gambling in 2002- m and soon opened the first gaming salons under the UniClub brand. At the time of creation, 55% of the shares of UniGames belonged to the Latvian company Spelu Nams, 10% to the Latvian company Star Technologies. Other beneficiaries of the business were individuals: Spanish citizen Marcos Vicenta Castella Garcia (15%) and Lithuanians Audingas Matulevičius (10%) and Vidas Pukjanis (10%).

In recent years, the operator has been actively investing in the development of online

Slot machines at TopSport betting shops

An interesting strategy for the development of the gambling business has been developed by TopSport, the largest bookmaker in Lithuania. It owns more than 70 betting shops throughout the country, 46 of which have slot machines. Cozy sports clubs with bars are divided into several zones and are designed for spending leisure time watching sports broadcasts, and video slots only complete the list of available entertainment.

TopSport UAB was founded in 2002 and is the first Lithuanian bookmaker to receive an official sports betting license. To place slot machines in its own points, the company issues separate permits in the Gambling Supervision Service. Since the mid-2010s, the bookmaker has been accepting sports bets on the Internet and promoting its online casino.

Limonas gambling halls

Limonas gambling halls are the least popular among gamblers. Two of them are located near the railway station and bus station in Vilnius, one is in the center of Siauliai. In total, they have 93 slot machines. Due to the small number of salons, the operator does not adhere to uniform service standards and relies more on casual visitors.

Almost Over the 20 years of the law on gambling business in Lithuania, 24 legal entities have received licenses to open gambling halls and casinos, but only 8 of them are on the market by 2021. Some companies did not start working after obtaining a permit, others were closed for violation of the law or initiated bankruptcy proceedings on their own.

Changes in the law on gambling business in 2015

The most significant amendments to the gambling law were made in 2015, when Lithuania officially joined the Eurozone. By that time, there was already a provision for cash payouts of up to 30,000 euros, and owners of category B slot machines were obliged to adapt slot machines to accept euros (the maximum rate for them was set at around 0.5 euros).

Но самые важные изменения коснулись принципов ответственной игры и правил работы онлайн-казино. Поправки были подписаны Президентом Литовской республики Далей Грибаускайте в июне 2015-го и вступали в силу с 1 января 2016 года.

Legalization of online gambling

New provisions of the law legalized the operation of online casinos. This type of activity required separate licensing, but only those companies that had land-based establishments in the country could obtain permission to conduct online gambling: at least one casino, at least 10 slot machine halls, or at least 20 sports betting outlets. This approach is used in some European countries. It is believed that it guarantees the seriousness of the intentions of gambling companies that have decided to develop the online segment. The main disadvantage of the described principle is that it limits the entry of foreign online casino operators into the market.

Economic factors have become other deterrents to the development of online gambling. The law introduced new requirements for the authorized capital of companies (not less than 1,158,000 euros) and a guarantee fund (not less than 72,400 euros) to ensure the payment of winnings.

Lithuanian online casino

Жесткие требования к организаторам удаленных азартных игр не помешали развитию онлайн-гемблинга в Литве. Первая лицензия была оформлена уже в январе 2016 года сразу после вступления закона в силу. Ее обладателем стала букмекерская контора Top Sport. За 5 лет с момента принятия поправок выдано в общей сложности 7 лицензий. Помимо компании Top Sport, обладателями разрешений стали владельцы игровых заведений Olympic Casino Group Baltija, Tete-a-tete Casino, Nesė, UniGames и две букмекерские конторы Baltic Bet и Lošimų Strateginė Grupė.

Among the legally operating Lithuanian online The casino stands out for the work of sites under the promoted brands OlyBet (Olympic Casino Group Baltija), OptiBet (Baltic Bet) and UniClub (UniGames) and TopSport. All of them offer visitors not only classic gambling entertainment, but also sports betting. By default, the websites use the interface in Lithuanian, and the main currency for making deposits and withdrawing winnings is the euro.

In parallel with fixing the rules of work on the online market, the Gambling Supervision Service began to form a black list of sites illegally providing services to Lithuanian users. Already in 2016, major European operators William Hill, Betway, PokerStars and Unibet fell under sanctions. By the end of 2020, more than 640 domains of online casinos and bookmakers, including mirrors, were included in the list of blocked resources.

Protecting the interests of players and combating gambling addiction

Amendments made to the law in 2015 year, legally fixed the definition of pathological gambling. Legislators officially recognized gambling as a mental disorder and prescribed provisions aimed at combating this ailment. It should be noted that since 2005, the Gambling Supervision Commission has signed voluntary agreements with operators to limit the access of players to bets if they express such a desire on their part. But it took 10 years to fix the right to self-exclusion in the law.

Clients of online casinos and betting sites have received the opportunity to apply for restriction of access to gambling entertainment. They were allowed to claim self-exclusion from the number of players for any period or require changes to their account settings:

• Limit on the amount of bets during one session or a selected time period.
• Limit on the size of a single bet. 1140
• Ограничение по времени для отдельно взятой игровой сессии.

Operators have been required to maintain a register of excluded players. By the end of 2020, 16,864 applications were registered in this document.

Changes in the law in 2019-2020

In 2019, the Lithuanian authorities decided to increase the tax on the gambling business. This was done in order to bring taxation in line with the rules adopted in other EU countries. For online casinos, the income tax rate was raised from 10% to 13%, for land-based establishments - from 15% to 18%. The changes came into effect on January 1, 2020.

For the first time since the transition to the euro, the amount of monthly deductions from each piece of equipment installed in the gaming hall or casino has also been increased.

Also, for the first time, several articles on sanctions and fines for violation of business organization rules appeared in the law. The regulator received the right to impose monetary penalties on violators in the amount of up to 50,000 euros.

Additional restrictions have been introduced in relation to gambling advertising. It was forbidden to use any information in advertising messages, except for the names of operators and the types of games that they conduct. Also, advertisers were required to accompany the placement of advertisements with a warning that participation in gambling can lead to gambling addiction.

Main trends in the development of the Lithuanian gambling market

За 20 лет действия закона об игорном бизнесе в Литве сформировался устойчивый рынок азартных развлечений с ежегодным оборотом свыше 1,1 млрд евро. В стране наблюдается четкое разделение сфер интересов игорных компаний, занимающихся управлением наземными казино и залами игровых автоматов. Крупные операторы активно осваивают онлайн-сегмент. После легализации игр на деньги в интернете именно в этой сфере наблюдается самый сильный рост. При этом страна идет по пути ужесточения принципов ответственной игры и повышения налоговой нагрузки на бизнес.

Compared to the early 2000s, Lithuanians began to spend more money on gambling. This item of expenditure for the average citizen of the country reaches 23% of all spending on leisure activities. On the other hand, since 2019, there has been a sharp increase in the number of applications by Lithuanian citizens to casino and bookmaker operators with a request to exclude them from the number of clients.

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