Lithuania’s regulated iGaming market rose 47.1 percent in 2020, but failed to mitigate losses in the land-based industry.
According to iGamingBusiness.com, total gaming revenues declined 8.1 percent year-on-year to €103.5 million (US$124.4 million), with land-based revenues down 39.1 percent to €43.9 million.
Between March and May, during the worst of the pandemic shutdowns, more consumers participated online. Total customer spend surpassed €1 billion, up 64.3 percent year-on-year, for total revenues of €59.6 million.
And though most sporting events were called off during the period as a result of Covid-19, sports betting kicked in the second largest share of any vertical. Betting revenue was up 10.5 percent to €26.5 million on stakes of €444.1 million a 5.2 percent improvement over 2019. Online table game revenue likewise rose to €1.9 million.
Despite these gains, the land-based market struggled. Customer stakes across all products fell 39.5 percent below the 2019 total of €288.6 million.
Lottery sales also were down 6.7 percent to €106.3 million.
Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Gambling Supervision Service, part of the country’s Ministry of Finance, has announced it will tighten controls for the industry amid money laundering concerns. All licensees will be required to implement new KYC processes, while land-based venues must only allow registered customers to gamble.
By December 2020, more than 17,300 people had voluntarily entered self-exclusion programs, up from the numbers in 2019.
