Gambling revenue in Lithuania increased 66.0% year-on-year in the first half of 2022 as customers returned to land-based venues following the removal of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions.
Gross revenue for the six-month period amounted to €89.3m (£75.5m/$91.1m), up from €53.8m in the previous year when strict Covid-19 measures meant casinos, slot machine parlours and betting and totalisator points could not open or operate.
As such, revenue from land-based gambling rocketed by 1,139.3% from just €2.8m in 2021 to €34.7m this year, with venues open again as normal.
Category B slot machines – which limit stakes to €0.50 per spin and have win amounts capped at 200 times the original stake – were the main source of land-based revenue, generating €15.3m in the first half. Revenue from category A machines – with uncapped payouts and stakes – amounted to €6.2m. Table game revenue reached €7.9m and retail betting revenue €4.9m.
Turning to online and despite the reopening of retail in H1, internet gambling retained its audience, with revenue increasing by 7.7% year-on-year to €54.9m.
Online slots remained the game of choice for many Lithuanian consumers, with category A machines generating €15.5m in revenue and category B machines €683,313. Internet sports betting revenue reached €9.0m, while online table games revenue was €3.5m.
Lithuania’s Gambling Supervisory Authority also noted that €65.2m worth of lottery tickets were sold in the first half, a 3.2% increase on the same period last year, while the total amount paid out in winnings climbed 5.6% to €38.5m.
Publication of the results comes after the country’s regulator in June amended the Code of Administrative Offences (ANK) after it discovered a loophole that prohibited the confiscation of tools used to commit illegal acts or the proceeds that result from them.
Article 34, paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the ANK state that objects used in an administrative offence must be confiscated, along with any proceeds. However, the ANK did not permit the actual confiscation of these items from companies, only from individuals who receive income from the illegal acts.
Last month, the regulator also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ukraine’s Commission on the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries to work together on gambling and lottery supervision.
Under the agreement, the two regulatory bodies will exchange information, share details of good practice and trade ideas on how to improve gambling, deepen their knowledge of the industry and ensure the implementation of relevant laws in each country.
