Lithuania

A Lithuanian licence is required to offer gambling to residents. Since the 2022 amendments, a dedicated remote gambling licence separates online from land-based requirements, removes the prior requirement to operate a domiciled land-based venue, and is granted with an indefinite term. The remote-only licence carries a one-off fee of EUR 500,000; a combined land-based + remote licence costs EUR 1m. Existing online operators must reapply/migrate to the dedicated remote licence before 1 October 2026. LLI maintains a public whitelist and a blacklist; banks and EMIs use these. Game and platform providers must have platforms accredited by independent bodies under LPT technical standards.

The dedicated remote-only licence carries a one-off fee of EUR 500,000 with an indefinite term; a combined land-based + remote licence costs EUR 1m. Land-based category fees are EUR 300,000 (table games / Category A machines), EUR 300,000 (Category B machines) and EUR 100,000 (betting / bingo). These one-off entry costs are high relative to the small market.

From January 2025 the GGR tax rate rose to 22% for slots, casino games, bingo, betting and online/remote gambling (previously 20%). The tax basis is GGR (stakes minus winnings paid). Returns are filed monthly with VMI, payable by the 15th of the following month. VAT does not apply to gambling. A separate bill proposes taxing land-based slots/tables at 18% of GGR (replacing the fixed per-table/per-machine fees). Operators must report players whose monthly winnings/losses exceed EUR 100,000.

Lithuania is moving toward a near-total advertising ban. Significant restrictions took effect 1 July 2025; until end-2027, gambling ads remain permitted on TV/radio/online subject to strict content and placement rules, with mandatory responsible-gambling warnings and a prohibition on targeting under-18s. From 1 January 2028, all sponsorship by gambling operators is banned. Bonuses, gifts, discounts and similar inducements are prohibited. Operators must check the SISPO self-exclusion register before marketing.

App-store distribution is permitted for LLI-licensed operators. Google Ads and Meta require a Lithuanian gambling licence certificate, but the phased advertising ban materially constrains paid channels from 2025. Affiliates are permitted but operators are held responsible for affiliate compliance, and bonus/inducement promotion is prohibited.

The LLI ordered a block against Polymarket on 21 September 2026, treating the platform's event-outcome wagering activity as unlicensed remote gambling or betting under the existing licensing statute, without reliance on any new instrument. This extends the LLI's established website-blocking enforcement mechanism to a platform type, prediction markets, not previously targeted on this record. The action signals an active and expanding enforcement posture: the regulator is applying its current powers to new platform categories offering functionally similar wagering activity, rather than waiting for a bespoke prediction-market rule. For operators, the relevant risk driver is that unlicensed offshore platforms serving Lithuanian users with event-outcome wagering face the same blocking exposure demonstrated here, and that exposure is live now rather than contingent on future legislation.

Direction is tightening. The 2024/2025 reform package (effective 1 July 2025) raised the gambling age from 18 to 21, introduced centralised controls (dedicated RG intervention staff with 48-hour suspension powers), increased the GGR tax to 22%, and began a phased advertising ban running to a full sponsorship ban in 2028. LPT also notified updated remote-platform technical/accreditation standards to the European Commission in February 2025. Further responsible-gambling tightening is expected.