The European Court has stated that the widespread rule changes around gambling promotions looking to be implemented in Lithuania are unenforceable.
In what could prove to be a landmark ruling that sets a precedent across Europe, the courts sided with operator Unigames, which took issue with the notification that the government provided to the European Commission.
Unigames had previously been sanctioned over several breaches, which included a breach of Article 10(19), the encouragement of players to gamble on their site or at a remote location.
This sanction came in 2021 off the back of a rule amendment in Lithuania, which prohibited any encouragement for gambling within marketing content.
However, it was claimed that on the date of the order the breaches were still in place on the operator’s website, which caused the operator to be sanctioned with a €12,662 ($13,795) fine and removal of the infringement by no later than 20 June 2022.
However, the European Court ruled that the technical regulations were inapplicable due to “a breach of the notification obligation”, the court also emphasised that the amendment had not been notified sufficiently to the European Commission of Amendments.
Subsequently, the court stated that this constitutes a substantial procedural defect in the adoption of the technical regulations, meaning that they are unenforceable against operators.
Lithuania’s new approach
At the end of last year, Lithuania confirmed it would move forward with plans for the tightening of its gambling framework.
The new provisions were approved by the Seimas (parliament) to be included in the Gambling Law of the Republic of Lithuania.
Underlining the significantly tighter new framework, the ‘consolidated gambling age’ of 21 years was confirmed as coming into effect from 1 July 2025.
The raising of Lithuania’s legal gambling age from 18-to-21 had been signed off by the government in January, with the schedule of Gambling Law amendments to be determined by the Seimas.
Furthermore, financial service providers will be mandated to block transactions associated with unlicensed gambling websites, the Ministry of Finance believes that the combined measures will create a safer gambling environment, reduce gambling addiction, and ensure that licensed gambling operators adhere to high standards of social responsibility.
