Lithuanian Gaming Control Authority Slaps a 495,000 Euro Fine on Baltic's Largest Online Operator

Lithuania's gambling regulator, Lithuanian Gaming Control Authority, has ordered Olympic Casino Group to pay up a penalty of 495,000 euros after the operator was caught violating the law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.

They are a subsidiary of Olympic Entertainment Group from Estonia, which is the largest gaming operator in the Baltic region.

A Very Serious Offense

The company has been found in “very serious” breach of the said law that looks to prevent money laundering...

...when they failed to verify the identity of three customers who exchanged 42,000 euros in cash for chips while playing table games in Panevezys Casino. This was publicized in a press release written by the authority.

According to Lithuanian gambling laws and regulations, gaming operators are required to additionally verify the identity of a customer who exchanges over 1,000 euros in cash within a span of 24 hours.

The fine of 495,000 euros is a middle-of-the-road one that is used in situations like this one. Olympic Casino Group can consider itself lucky that they were not given the most severe penalty, which is 1.1 million euros!

Getting Crowded

The iGaming scene in Lithuania is surprisingly bustling with life – merely over a week ago, it gained strength when Tom Horn Gaming announced its entry. The deal was struck with Betsafe.lt, a local subsidiary of Betsson Group, which is a leading betting brand in this country.

Tom Horn's arrival was welcomed by Kaido Ulejev, who manages Betsson's brands in the Baltics and said that they are a modern-thinking company with a big reputation for developing beautifully designed games.

Bad News From Riga

Much darker clouds are headed for the gambling scene in neighboring, Latvia, whose authorities decided to cease activities of all gambling venues in the country's capital, Riga.

The controversial move comes after Riga's Mayor called for an urgent decree that would put gambling facilities out of business. The only exceptions that will be spared in this collective shutdown are hotels with four and five stars that hold gambling licenses.

Latvian laws allow for local governments to abort gambling operations if they deem it in the interest of local residents...

...and if they “create significant impairments.”

The mayor's statement on this was quite explanatory

“This is one task that we have to accomplish. We made the first step in 2017 when we banned gaming venues in the historical center of the city. At the same time, it is clear that the problem of gambling is the worst in the neighborhoods of Riga. That is why the municipality has to do everything in its power to finally make Riga a city completely free of gambling”.

Source:

“Lithuanian Gaming Control Authority slaps fine on casino group on law violators”, Niji Narayan, europeangaming.eu, April 4, 2019.