Lithuania raising gambling taxes by January 2025

Christine Denosta 6 days ago

A discussion in the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament) occurred on 25 April 2024 regarding amendments to the state’s gambling laws. The original proposal aimed to limit or forbid gambling companies’ marketing initiatives; however, after the strong opposition in parliament, this was amended into a tax increase for gambling and more amendments and requirements for the law. The revised law was approved on 18 June 2024 and is set to take effect on 1 January 2025. It is expected to bring a €4.4 million increase in the state’s annual budget.

The proposal

In March, a proposal to alter the gambling tax base in Lithuania by transitioning from gross win to turnover tax was rejected due to the potential negative effect on operators’ profitability.

Lithuania’s National Betting and Gaming Association strongly opposed the original proposed amendments to the law, claiming that the shift to turnover tax could put many operators out of business. Consequently, the proposal was amended to increase the tax rate from 20% to 22% for slot machines, table games, bingo, totalisator, betting, and remote games. Additionally, the minimum gambling age will be raised from 18 to 21.

Considered amendments

MP Jurgita Sejonienė of the Homeland Union Party (Christian Democrats) proposed the law amendment that led the parliament into a debate.

During the discussion, Seimas considered three significant law amendments: the complete banning of gambling advertisements, raising the gambling age for both land-based and online activities to 21, and setting a spending limit for gambling establishments with a restriction of cash payments for winnings.

Another amendment considered by the parliament is the mandatory self-exclusion of players starting to show problematic behaviours or addiction to gambling.

Implementation and decisions

The debate for the limitation and restriction of gambling companies’ marketing activities resulted from the scandalous case of Šarūnas Stepukonis and BaltCap Investment, in which the former was reported to have lost millions of euros of corporate funds in casinos. Parliament wanted to avoid replaying such issues, hence their decision to raise the gambling tax rate in Lithuania to regulate the companies’ activities.

Meanwhile, the discussion about the raising of the gambling age limit was immediately approved by the Seimas.

The 20% to 22% gambling rate increase was set for the final voting before its entry in January 2025. All gambling operators will be required to provide the state tax office with information on their players whose winnings or losses exceed €100,000 per month.