Betsafe violates Lithuania gambling law, escapes sanctions

The regulator found that Lošimų Strateginė Grupė UAB, trading as Betsafe, had violated the Gambling Law of the Republic of Lithuania by offering live dealer solution provider Ezugi’s Sic Bo on its site without holding the appropriate certificate.  

The Supervision Service additionally found the Sic Bo dice game offering not in compliance with the country’s gambling rules. Betsafe was also found to be in breach of regulations by paying out to a player gambling winnings achieved in the game.

After evaluating the circumstances of the incident, the regulator said it recognised the breaches as “minor violations” of the law.

Regulator finds mitigating circumstances

The Supervision Service also took into account mitigating circumstances accompanying the breaches of the law. It said Betsafe cooperated in good faith during the inspection and provided information and explanations.

It also noted that Betsafe has not previously been punished for similar breaches, the company immediately stopped when informed, it received no income from the breaches and no players suffered damage as a result of the company’s actions. The regulator said it found no aggravating circumstances.

As a result, the Supervision Service determined that the violations were “insignificant” and did not cause major damage. The regulator therefore decided not to apply sanctions in this case.

Betsafe has the option of appealing the decision if it chooses.

Recent enforcement actions

The Supervision Service has recently applied financial sanctions on betting operators it considered to have violated the country’s gambling law.

Last month, it fined Baltic Bet €16,705 (£14,319/$18,259) for breaching rules over offering gambling to consumers.

Earlier in the month, the regulator hit Top Sport with three consecutive fines in a week for a number of failings related to payments, mobile betting and under-age gambling violations.