Lithuania’s gambling revenue rises 13.4%
Player expenditure in H1 reached €2.3bn.
Lithuania.- Gambling revenue Lithuania reached €131.5m in the first six months of the year. That’s a rise of 13.4 per cent compared to the same period last year. Total player expenditure across all formats reached €2.3bn, with gains in both online and land-based gambling.
According to data released by Lithuania’s Gaming Control Authority, online gambling generated over €2.08bn in wagers, a rise of 16.8 per cent year-over-year. Revenue in the sector rose by 18.2 per cent to €96.1m.
Category A online slots, which offer unlimited winnings, led with €64.4m in revenue, up 20.4 per cent, from €1.51bn in stakes, up 21.4 per cent. Meanwhile, revenue from Category B slots, which are capped at €0.3 per stake and to 200x winnings, fell by 34 per cent to €1.2m.
Online table games saw the fastest growth, with revenue jumping by 36.4 per cent to €9.2m on the back of a 11.6 per cent increase in player spend to €257.4m. Remote sports betting brought in revenue of €21.3m, a 10.5 per cent increase, from wagers of €301.3m, a rise of 4.3 per cent.
As for land-based gambling, revenue edged up by 2.2 per cent to €35.4m despite the withdrawal of one operator, reducing the number of licensees to nine. Category B slot machines remained the top earners, generating €14.8m (up 2.8 per cent) while wagers increased by 4.8 per cent. Category A revenue was up 2.5 per cent to €8.1m.
Table games revenue fell by 5 per cent to €7.6m due to reduced player activity, and retail sports betting revenue rose by 11.6% to €4.8m despite a drop in the value of stakes.
Finally, the national lottery market saw a 10.6 per cent revenue increase, reaching €36.7m in H1. Ticket sales grew 8.2 per cent to 54.5m, while turnover jumped 14.1 per cent to €80.8m. Players took €44.6m in winnings, a rise of 17.1 per cent year-on-year.
New restrictions on gambling ads in Lithuania
From the start of July, new rules for gambling advertising in Lithuania ban all external gambling advertising, including the use of brand logos, apart from on gambling operators’ own headquarters and at gambling venues.
Gambling operators may still sponsor sporting events, organisations, broadcasts and athletes, and cultural or artistic events, but the names of gambling companies can not be used in the names of sports clubs or leagues. Gambling operators can also continue to advertise their name and trademarks on their websites, but only publications dedicated to gambling may publish information about products.
As for TV, radio and online marketing, adverts must be no longer than 15 seconds long and must not be shown more than three times an hour between 6am and 6pm or more than twice an hour between 8pm and midnight. Online betting ads must not link to betting websites.
The new rules are intended as the first phase in a transition to a complete ban on gambling ads in 2028.
There is also a new minimum gambling age in Lithuania for online products. The age limit was raised from 18 to 21 for all products with the exception of national lottery draws. That brings online gambling in line with land-based casinos.
