Lithuania’s Regional Administrative Court has significantly reduced the fine imposed on Olympic Casino Group Baltija, bringing it down to €1.2m (approximately $1.34m).
Last September, Lithuania’s Gambling Supervisory Authority (LPT) fined Olympic Casino Group €8.4m (approximately $9.37m) for breaches of financial compliance requirements. Olympic Entertainment Group (OEG) immediately appealed the decision, challenging the circumstances surrounding the enforcement action.
The case concerned whether the company had conducted adequate anti-money laundering (AML) checks in relation to the gambling activity of its former associate, Šarūnas Stepukonis, who was linked to the embezzlement of funds from investment fund BaltCap.
The challenge to LPT’s fine is taking place alongside a separate investigation into Stepukonis, who is suspected of misappropriating approximately €42m (around $46.87m) from companies belonging to the BaltCap fund.
According to the regulator, Olympic failed to establish the source of the funds Stepukonis used for gambling and did not adequately monitor his transactions.
Olympic rejected these allegations. The group’s Lithuanian subsidiary argued that LPT had misinterpreted both the legislation in force at the time of the alleged violations and the current rules. The company also denied encouraging Stepukonis to gamble.
OEG maintained that the fine should reflect the company’s compliance failures while also taking into account Stepukonis’s deliberate actions in using Olympic venues for illicit activities.
The court identified shortcomings in LPT’s calculation of the penalty. According to the judges, the regulator had failed to follow the prescribed procedure and had not taken into account mitigating circumstances.
In particular, the court noted that Olympic had introduced an anti-money laundering policy and conducted a company risk assessment in 2021, before the inspection took place. The judges also acknowledged the company’s cooperation with the regulator and its willingness to provide the requested information.
Despite the substantial reduction, Olympic will still have to pay a significant fine, although the amount is considerably lower than the original €8.4m (approximately $9.37m). LPT has already announced its intention to appeal the court’s decision.
The regulator continues to defend its position. Arnoldas Dilba, head of LPT’s Legislation, Personnel and General Affairs Division, told the publication that the court had broadly upheld the authority’s findings regarding anti-money laundering violations.
Court Ruling Raises Questions About the Regulator’s Powers
LPT treated what it considered insufficient cooperation from the company during the inspection as an aggravating factor. However, this position conflicts with the court’s findings, which recognised Olympic’s cooperation with the supervisory authority as a factor justifying a reduction in the fine.
The case has attracted considerable public attention, as it has become a test of LPT’s enforcement powers ahead of Lithuania’s planned 2027 reform of gambling compliance legislation. Against this backdrop, concerns have emerged that court rulings could limit the regulator’s ability to enforce the rules.
Under the new legislation, LPT will begin implementing an updated compliance framework on 1 May 2027. The reform will introduce significant changes for operators, including new procedures for customer identification, transaction monitoring and the recording of gambling activity.
The next phase of the reform is scheduled to begin in January 2029. It will introduce mandatory player cards and eliminate cash payments at gambling venues. The cards are intended to enable the centralized recording of deposits and winnings across different operators, covering both online gambling and land-based gambling venues.
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