Betsson brand and Tete-a-Tete Casino fined in Lithuania

Gaming Strategy Group was fined €25,000 (£20,982/$25,591) for breaching rules regarding advertising, after it distributed a newsletter to 10,430 customers about an online game.

Sent in February this year, the newsletter included information about the game and its features, as well as the option for players to click on links to login to their account or to request a new password if they had forgotten their login details.

Last year, the Lithuanian government introduced a ban on range of gambling advertising, including promotional bonuses. The Law on Gambling prohibits the promotion of gambling through activities such as special events, test games, promotions, discounts, gifts and other incentives.

In its ruling, the Gambling Supervisory Authority said as the newsletter’s intention was to draw attention to a gambling service and specific details about the game, including its win percentage and free spins features, this was in breach of Article 10 (19) of Lithuania’s gambling regulations (ALI).

In the case of Tete-a-Tete Casino, the Gambling Supervisory Authority issued the operator a fine of €15,000 for allowing players located outside of Lithuania to gamble through its website remotely.

The regulator said this breached Article 205, Part 3, Article 201, Part 1 of the ALI as gambling with an operator licensed in Lithuania while not physically located in the country is illegal on the part of the gambling operator. 

Tete-a-Tete Casino was also warned that its licence could be suspended if it does not put in place the relevant processes to halt such activity in the future. The operator has until 10 August to comply with the request. 

The Gambling Supervisory Authority noted that neither decision was final, and both of the operators can appeal the rulings.

The latest fines comes after Tete-a-Tete Casino, along with Olympic Casino Group Baltija and UAB Baltic Bet, were in May also fined for breaching marketing rules in Lithuania.

All three operators have previously faced disciplinary action in the country, the most recent being Olympic Casino Group Baltija when in March it was fined €25,000 for publishing information about a poker tournament on its website.

Baltic Bet was fined €12,450 for “organising gambling outside of gambling regulations” in October last year, while Tete-a-Tete Casino in March 2021 became the first operator to be fined under new regulations in Lithuania for unreasonably setting betting limits on an online customer.

A number of other operators have also been fined for breaching advertising laws in recent months, including Top Sport, which was fined €25,000, while 7bet operator Amber Gaming was handed a €6,789 penalty.

Also in May, both Unigames and Betsson were fined after being found in violation of the country’s ban on gambling promotion.