At least two online poker operators have been hit by fines in Lithuania after they were accused of breaking advertising laws by the country’s gambling authority.
Olympic Casino Group Baltija and Gambling Strategy Group were each told to pay a fine of EUR 25,000 after they uploaded information about a poker tournament, the Fisherman’s Challenge. They were told that their act constituted a breach of new advertising and marketing laws introduced last year in the country.
The poker tournament was organized in partnership with both companies and therefore they were both being held responsible for breaching the laws (Article 18 (1) and Article 201 (1)).
This is not the first company that has met the wrath of the Lithuania Gambling Authority. Earlier this year, Amber Gaming, operator of the online gambling site 7Bet, was fined over EUR 31,000 for violating some the laws. Around half of that was for gambling advertising that was deemed illegal, and the rest for entering into remote gambling agreements with citizens outside of the country.
Enlabs was also fined EUR 11,000 for encouraging its clients to gamble via email, an act which the authority says also violates the 2021 marketing laws.
It appears that Lithuania’s gambling authority has upped the ante on gambling law crackdowns and operators are starting to act more cautiously as a result.
