Top Sport handed €25,000 fine in Lithuania

Shirley Pulis Xerxen September 14, 2023

Top Sport, a gambling operator in Lithuania, has been fined €25,000 for allowing a person who had self-excluded from gambling to access its gambling website. The breach was identified in March 2023 when the individual notified the Lithuanian Gaming Control Authority that they had been able to access their account after registering with the country’s self-exclusion scheme.

What happened?

An investigation by the regulator found that the player had self-excluded on 31 October 2022. However, the individual gambled online with Top Sport on 11 November and again on 22 November. Furthermore, the Authority noted that the player was allowed to remain logged in to their Top Sport account after self-excluding. Article 10(21) of Lithuania’s Law on Gambling requires licensees to block access to anyone who has signed up to the country self-exclusion scheme. This included stopping them from logging in to their account. As such, the regulator ruled Top Sport breached this law and issued the fine.

Top Sport breaches

This is not the first time that Top Sport has been fined for regulatory breaches. Earlier this year, Top Sport was handed three separate fines in one week by the Authority amounting to €55,000. The first €25,000 fine was for allowing underage individuals to enter one of its slot locations. The following day, Top Sport was slapped with a €15,000 fine for mobile betting regulations breach. The third fine amounted to €15,000 for a breach related to payments and deposits into an online account.

What is self-exclusion?

Self-exclusion is a process that allows individuals to request a gambling operator to exclude them from gambling with them for a set length of time. It is a tool used by those who have recognized that their gambling is harmful to them and wish to be supported to stop gambling. Self-exclusion means that the individual will be refused service from these venues and websites. By law, gambling businesses must offer this option.

The duration of self-exclusion can range from six months to five years, depending on the jurisdiction. The individual can take active steps to remove themselves from gambling, whether online or in a premises. However, responsibility for sticking with this lies with the individual, but the gambling operator is expected to do all they reasonably can to prevent the individual from gambling.

It is worth noting that self-exclusion is not a foolproof method of preventing problem gambling. Previous data have demonstrated that many gamblers breach their own self-exclusion, typically through other online services outside the jurisdiction in which they are self-excluded.

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