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Gambling in Lithuania: Laws and Online Gambling

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Online gambling in Lithuania: laws and player risks

Elodie, an AI presenter, explains online casino rules in Lithuania, player enforcement evidence, offshore risks and available options. Legal review: 8 November 2026.

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Published by Filip RadulovicReviewed byFilip RadulovicOur editorial approach

Lithuania regulates gambling through a licensing system under the Law on Gaming (No IX-325 of 17 May 2001), supervised by the Gaming Control Authority (Lošimų priežiūros tarnyba) under the Ministry of Finance. Private companies may operate casinos, gaming machine halls, betting and online gambling once they hold a Lithuanian licence and the relevant permits. Since July 2022 a company has been able to offer remote gambling without also running land-based venues. Operators without a licence are treated as illegal: the Authority publishes a list of them and can have their websites and payments blocked. Since 1 July 2025 Lithuania has applied strict limits on gambling advertising. This guide explains the legal framework, the licensing model, online enforcement, the position of players, taxation, consumer protection and recent reforms.

Key points

Gambling is governed by the Law on Gaming of 2001 and supervised by the Gaming Control Authority, which licenses operators and keeps the registers of gaming devices and of persons restricted from gambling.
Gaming licences are issued for an indefinite period. Since July 2022, remote gambling no longer requires the operator to run land-based venues.
The Authority publishes a list of illegal online gambling operators and can order internet providers to block access to their sites. Payment blocking is also available.
Amendments signed on 22 November 2024 sharply restricted gambling advertising from 1 July 2025, with a transitional period to 1 January 2028.
The self-exclusion register lets a person restrict their own gambling for at least six months; the default is two years.
Gross gaming revenue reached €175 million in the first nine months of 2024, about 70% of it from remote gambling.

Regional overview: Gambling laws in the EU and the rest of Europe puts all 55 countries and territories on one map, grouped by how they regulate gambling.

Last reviewed: 5 October 2026.

Overview and market structure

Illustrated Lithuania landmarks with reference books and documents for the overview section

Lithuania has not reserved gambling for a state monopoly. In a monopoly model, the law gives one operator the exclusive right to offer a form of gambling. Lithuania instead licenses competing private operators, a system often called “dot-country” licensing. Operators obtain a national licence and serve the national market through authorised channels. Separate legislation, the Law on Lotteries, covers lotteries, which the Gaming Control Authority also supervises.

The Authority’s own statistics show how the market has shifted online. According to its report on activity results after nine months of 2024, gross gaming revenue (stakes less winnings) from gambling reached €175 million in January–September 2024, up 8.7% on the same period of 2023. Remote gambling accounted for €123 million (70%) and grew by 14.7%. Land-based venues accounted for €52 million (30%) and fell by 3.1%. Lottery ticket sales over the same period were €106.1 million, and €57.2 million was paid out in lottery winnings.

Legal framework

Checking gambling legislation and licensing

The Law on Gaming sets the conditions and procedure for organising games of chance and games on gaming machines. The Authority publishes an English translation on its page on the Gaming Law of the Republic of Lithuania. That translation reflects the consolidated text in force from 1 July 2020 to 31 October 2021, so later amendments must be read alongside it. The main features of that text are:

Licensing: games may be operated only with a gaming licence and the relevant gaming activity permit. Five types of licence are issued, and a gaming licence is issued for an indefinite period.
Age limits: From 1 November 2025, later amendments set the minimum gambling age at 21 for all gambling participants. The English translation summarized above reflects 1 July 2020 to 31 October 2021: it states persons under 18 must be refused entry to gaming machine halls and bingo halls and casino games are limited to people over 21.
Remote gambling: in the 2020–2021 version, a company could organise remote gambling only if it also had a land-based presence. This meant at least one casino, at least five totalisator stations or at least ten gaming machine halls.
Self-exclusion: individuals may ask to be barred from gambling for at least six months, and operators must stop providing services to them immediately.
Illegal gambling: the Authority may issue mandatory instructions to network service providers to remove the possibility of accessing information used for illegal gaming.
Advertising: gambling advertising must carry a warning that participation may lead to gambling addiction.

Two later reforms changed this picture. The Authority’s frequently asked questions on gambling state that, since July 2022, a company needs three things to operate remotely: a licence, a permit and approved gaming rules. Land-based venues are no longer required. The advertising amendments of 2024, discussed below, took effect in July 2025. As an EU member state, Lithuania must apply its gambling rules consistently with EU free-movement law. EU law does not harmonise gambling regulation, however, and a licence from another member state does not entitle an operator to serve Lithuanian residents.

Regulator and licensing model

The Gaming Control Authority’s description of its role lists its main tasks. It issues and cancels gaming and lottery licences, and grants permits for gaming halls, casinos and betting stations. It monitors operators’ compliance and maintains the Register of Gaming Devices and the Register of Persons Restricted from Gambling. It also drafts legislation on games of chance and lotteries. The Authority is a small body with 32 civil servants and employees in four divisions: licensing and permission; control; legislation, staff and general affairs; and type approval and registration of gaming devices.

Operators that hold a licence and a remote gambling permit are listed in the Authority’s permission list, which has a separate section for remote gambling. The list is the authoritative check of whether a particular operator may offer online gambling in Lithuania. Licensed operators must follow detailed technical requirements for remote gambling equipment and must verify a customer’s identity when a payout exceeds €1,000, whether paid in a single transaction or in linked transactions. The Authority’s FAQ also states that a natural person may not conclude a remote gaming contract through a representative.

Online gambling and enforcement

Online casino games, betting and other remote gambling are lawful in Lithuania only when offered by a licensed operator with a remote gambling permit. The Authority defines an illegal gaming operator as one that operates games without a licence and the relevant gaming activity permit, or that holds a licence but operates without the required permit.

Enforcement has three main elements. First, the Authority keeps a list of illegal online gambling operators, last updated 23 October 2026, according to the Gaming Control Authority (checked 31 October 2026). Second, according to its FAQ on illegal gambling, it can order electronic communications providers to remove access to information used for illegal gambling, so that the websites concerned are blocked in Lithuania. Third, payment blocking is available. In a communication of 21 November 2024, the Authority described the enforcement tools available under the Gaming Law as domain blocking, payment-system blocking and blacklisting of illegal operators and their websites. In the same communication it recommended that suppliers of gaming platforms, software and products stop serving operators that offer gambling illegally in Lithuania.

Our earlier report on Lithuania’s moves to restrict gambling advertising covers the political background to the advertising reforms.

Position of players

The Authority’s guidance focuses on operators. Its FAQ on illegal gambling stresses a practical limit: it cannot enforce measures or protect consumers against foreign unlicensed operators. Players in dispute with such an operator are directed to the authority that licensed it, if any. Lithuanian protections do not apply to unlicensed sites, including the self-exclusion register, identity checks and the Authority’s complaint procedure, and those sites may be blocked at any time.

The official sources we reviewed do not say whether an individual commits an administrative offence by playing on an unlicensed site, and we found no published record of players being fined. Readers should not assume that the position matches that of Sweden or Norway. Anyone in doubt should seek advice from the Authority.

The Authority’s FAQ also notes a rule that applies at licensed venues: bank card payments for gambling are prohibited, although card payments for bar services in gambling venues are allowed. When requested, operators issue certificates of winnings in a form established by the State Tax Inspectorate.

Taxation

Gambling and lotteries are subject to a dedicated lottery and gaming tax. According to the Authority’s nine-month report, the state budget received €55.8 million from lottery and gaming tax in January–September 2024, €6.2 million more than a year earlier. Gaming operators paid €36.14 million and lottery organisers €19.67 million. The applicable rates are set in tax legislation. We were unable to verify the current rates for each category from an official source for this review, so operators should check them with the State Tax Inspectorate. The tax treatment of individual players’ winnings was not covered by the sources we reviewed either.

Consumer protection and responsible gambling

Secure account login with a padlock and shield The Authority’s guidance on gaming self-exclusion explains how the national register works. Anyone aged 18 or over can apply to restrict their own gambling. The minimum period is six months. If no period is specified, a two-year restriction applies automatically, and the maximum is 99 years. The restriction applies throughout Lithuania and to all gaming companies registered in Lithuania, both land-based and online. Lithuanian citizens with a personal code can apply online through the dedicated portal (nebenoriu-losti.lt) using e-banking or an electronic signature. Foreign nationals can apply in person at the Authority’s office in Vilnius. A request becomes valid on the next working day. In January 2025 the Authority also published guidance on how to submit a self-exclusion application correctly.

The 1 July 2020 to 31 October 2021 English translation of the Law on Gaming includes age limits of 18 for gaming machine and bingo halls and 21 for casinos, and the mandatory addiction warning in advertising. From 1 November 2025, the minimum gambling age is 21 for all gambling participants. For gaming machines, the Authority’s FAQ sets the share of stakes returned as winnings at 90–100% for category A machines and 80–100% for category B machines. General advice on recognising and controlling problem gambling is available in our responsible gambling guide.

Recent and upcoming developments

Advertising restrictions (2025). The President signed amendments to the Law on Gaming on 22 November 2024, as the Authority reported in Gambling advertising regime restrictions are coming. Their stated aim is to reduce involvement in gambling and the risk of addiction. The Authority’s summary of the advertising requirements from 1 July 2025 explains that the amendments changed Articles 10, 20(6) and 28 of the Law on Gaming, with a transitional period until 1 January 2028. The main rules are:

Outdoor advertising is limited to the company’s name or trademark on the building where it operates.
Advertising of casino games, gaming machines and other non-betting games on television, radio and the internet is banned.
Betting advertising is allowed on broadcast media only in spots of up to 15 seconds: at most three an hour between 6 am and 6 pm, and two an hour between 6 pm and midnight.
Website betting advertising must be static and limited in size, with no pop-ups and no hyperlinks to operators’ sites.
Sponsorship of sports and cultural events and organisations remains possible, but sponsor announcements during live broadcasts and operator names in the titles of sports clubs or leagues are prohibited.
All permitted advertising must include a warning about gambling addiction.

Supplier pressure (2024). The Authority’s November 2024 call on platform and software suppliers to stop serving unlicensed operators extends enforcement from consumer-facing websites to the business-to-business supply chain behind them.

Online market growth. The removal of the land-based requirement in July 2022 opened the remote market to online-only companies. Remote gambling’s 70% share of gross gaming revenue in early 2024 shows how far the market’s centre of gravity has moved online.

Sources and further reading

Gaming Control Authority, Law on Gaming of the Republic of Lithuania No IX-325 (English translation, consolidated 1 July 2020–31 October 2021) (accessed 5 October 2026).
Gaming Control Authority, Gaming Law of the Republic of Lithuania (accessed 5 October 2026).
Gaming Control Authority, About the Gaming Control Authority (accessed 5 October 2026).
Gaming Control Authority, Permission list (accessed 5 October 2026).
Gaming Control Authority, Illegal online gambling operators (accessed 5 October 2026).
Gaming Control Authority, Frequently asked questions: gambling (accessed 5 October 2026).
Gaming Control Authority, Frequently asked questions: illegal gambling (accessed 5 October 2026).
Gaming Control Authority, Gaming self-exclusion (accessed 5 October 2026).
Gaming Control Authority, Gambling advertising regime restrictions are coming (2024).
Gaming Control Authority, Gaming advertising requirements from July 1, 2025 (2025).
Gaming Control Authority, Gaming and lotteries – activity results after 9 months of 2024 (2024).
Gaming Control Authority, Communication to providers of gaming platforms/software/products about cooperation with unlicensed operators (2024).

Casino listings for players in Lithuania

The listings below are generated from our casino database. They do not by themselves show that an operator holds a Lithuanian licence. Before registering, check the operator against the Gaming Control Authority’s permission list and its list of illegal online gambling operators. Operators without a Lithuanian licence are not supervised in Lithuania, and their websites and payments may be blocked.

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