Online Gaming in Lithuania

Lithuania's gambling laws are unclear in regard to online gaming, but that hasn't stopped the government from making the state lottery company, Olifeja, the sole authorized provider of online gambling services in the country with the exception of sports betting. Online sports betting is offered by Topsport, Orakulas and Omnibet.

In early 2014, Lithuania submitted draft legislation that would modernize the country's online gaming laws for approval to the European Commission.

The new legislation would allow public and private companies established in Lithuania to offer online gaming services within the country.

In May 2014, the European Commission delayed its ruling on the draft legislation, and the ruling has still not been made.

In 2011, Lithuania's gambling regulator brought a case against TEO – a telephone company controlling most of Lithuania's high-speed DSL lines – to force TEO to block all international online casinos, bingo halls, sportsbooks and poker rooms. TEO refused to implement the request, stating it would not participate in censorship. The Vilnius City Court ruled that TEO had no obligation to block websites hosted on networks it does not own or control. Past Lithuania Constitutional Court rulings state that public information may be prohibited, censored or restricted only in cases of national emergencies, and internet casino websites do not pose a level of threat that can be viewed by a reasonable person as a national emergency.

In January 2016, the Lithuania Gambling Control Authority began taking steps to prevent online gaming providers not licensed in Lithuania from operating in the country by limiting their financial transactions with local financial institutions.

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