Fifty lawmakers from the majority party in the Republic of Lithuania have signed onto amendments to the Gambling Law that would further crack down on advertising on gambling, casinos and wagers, Yogonet reported February 13.
By 2025 a ban would be adopted on dissemination of information on sponsorships of public events or virtually any kind of activity by gambling companies.
Gambling ads on all media, including billboards and websites, would be forbidden. The only exception would be at the gambling venue itself, or on its website. Some amendments would allow gaming companies to publish information in publications aimed at industry professionals.
It hasn’t helped the industry that a scandal alleges that Šarūnas Stepukonis, partner in the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund, embezzled millions of euros from the fund and gambled it away. Some MPs accuse Olympic Casino Group Baltija of trying to evade responsibility for the scandal.
The author of the amendments, Mindaugas Lingė, points out that the overall revenues of gaming companies in Lithuania skyrocketed from 103 million euros ($110 million) in 2020 to 222 million euros ($237 million) in 2023.
LRT, Lithuanian National Radio and Television, reports that money spent on gambling ads went from € 6.36 million ($6,810,733) in 2020 to € 12.73 million ($13,632,175) in 2023. Profits in the sector went from €20 million (21,411,000) in 2020 to more than €53 million ($56,722,190) in 2022.
