Top Sport hit with third fine of 2022 for allowing overseas access to player
The first and biggest betting operator in Lithuania, Top Sport, has been hit with its third fine of the year by Lithuania’s Gambling Supervisory Authority. Established in 2002, the renowned operator breached the authority’s regulation as it enabled a player to gamble remotely, using the operator’s website, from a location that lies beyond the borders of the Baltic nation.
The Lithuanian regulator does not allow remote gambling on operators based in the country. ©Makshim Shutov/Unsplash
After a violation of Article 205, Part 3, Article 201, Part 1 of the Gambling Law of Lithuania, the Authority slapped a fine of $14,889 on Top Sport. This is not the first time the operator has landed in trouble this year. The first fine that Top Sport was hit with this year came in the month of May. After an inspection last year, it was revealed that despite the ban on gambling promotion in the country, Top Sport had numerous posts on its website that were deemed as promotions for gambling. As a result, the Authority hit the operator with a $25,554 penalty.
Top Sport was in the spotlight of the Authority yet again in September this year. This time, however, it did not have anything to do with their website. The operator failed to install CCTV Cameras properly at two retail ocations. At the moment, Top Sport has betting shops in 26 towns, with 62 betting locations and 50 Top Sport Casino slot machine salons. Footage from the CCTV camera at two locations in Klaipėda was blurry and failed to capture the faces of individuals who visited these outlets. Furthermore, the recording systems at both locations failed to capture images of financial transactions. As a result, a $14,437 fine was confirmed.
Lithuania fined other operators for advertising breaches
After penalizing Top Sport for an advertising breach in May this year, the Lithuanian Gambling Supervisory Authority dished out fines for quite a few operators for the same breach. In the month of May, excluding Top Sport, six other operators were fined. In addition to that, all these operators were sternly warned that their licenses could be revoked if circumstances do not change immediately.
Amber Gaming, Lošimų Strateginė Grupė, Unigames, Baltic Bet, Olympic Casino Group Baltija, and Tete-a-tete Casino were the six operators fined after Top Sport. The aggregate of fines in May 2022 was a little over $100,000. The Promotional Advertising of Gambling has been banned in Lithuania since July 01, 2021. It is alarming to see several operators not just paying fines but risking their licenses, reputation and credibility by not adhering to the code properly.
Lošimų Strateginė Grupė was fined on two separate occasions this year for violating the same directive. The operator has paid a total of almost $50,000 in fines that were imposed in May and August this year. Tete-a-tete Casino was also fined for the second time this year but not due to the advertising violation. The operator enabled remote gambling for players and was charged a $14,629 fine.
The list grows
The Lithuanian regulatory body has come to be known for its strictness over the last few years. Here is a list operators, that have been fined since September 2020:
- Amber Gaming
Fine: €6,789 ($6,621)
Charge: The information recorded and published on the operator’s website encouraged visitors to take part in remote gambling. This violated the provision in Article 10, paragraph 19 (Prohibition of encouraging gambling) of the law.
- Lošimų Strateginė Grupė:
Fine: €25,000 ($24,383)
Charge: The information recorded and published on the operator’s website encouraged visitors to take part in remote gambling. This violated the provision in Article 10, paragraph 19 (Prohibition of encouraging gambling) of the law.
- Unigames
Fine: €12,662 ($12,350)
Charge: The information recorded and published on the operator’s website encouraged visitors to take part in remote gambling. This violated the provision in Article 10, paragraph 19 (Prohibition of encouraging gambling) of the law.
- Baltic Bet
Fine: €18,941 ($18,474)
Charge: The information recorded and published on the operator’s website encouraged visitors to take part in remote gambling. This violated the provision in Article 10, paragraph 19 (Prohibition of encouraging gambling) of the law.
- Olympic Casino Group Baltija
Fine: €25,000 ($24,383)
Charge: The information recorded and published on the operator’s website encouraged visitors to take part in remote gambling. This violated the provision in Article 10, paragraph 19 (Prohibition of encouraging gambling) of the law.
- Tete-a-tete Casino
Fine: €25,000 ($24,383)
Charge: The information recorded and published on the operator’s website encouraged visitors to take part in remote gambling. This violated the provision in Article 10, paragraph 19 (Prohibition of encouraging gambling) of the law.
- Lošimų Strateginė Grupė
Fine: €25,000 ($24,383)
Charge: The information recorded and published on the operator’s website encouraged visitors to take part in remote gambling. This violated the provision in Article 10, paragraph 19 (Prohibition of encouraging gambling) of the law.
- Tete-a-tete Casino
Fine: €15,000 ($14,630)
Charge: Article 205, Part 3 and Article 201, Part 1 of the law were violated when the operator executed remote gambling contracts with individuals residing outside the territory of the Republic of Lithuania.
