Lithuania Introduces Mandatory Cards for Licensed Casinos’ Customers

User Identification: Core Shifts

The introduced requirements are intended to enhance oversight of industry processes and guarantee issues are identified promptly. Under this new system, participation in licensed gaming will only be permitted with a personalised card linked to the customer’s profile and national ID number. This innovation will apply to land-based casinos, slot machine venues, and online portals.

The key goals of the introduced measures include:

• verification of user identity and age;
• controlling responsible gambling compliance;
• centralised accounting of financial operations;
• connection to the national self-exclusion registry.

The Lithuanian regulatory body will be able to monitor deposits, winnings, and losses across all operators. This strategy will provide a comprehensive understanding of player behaviour across the entire market.

Unified Control as the Priority

According to the authorities, this project is Europe's 1st centralised industry-management system. Although similar mechanisms exist in Poland and Norway, they only cover specific entertainment categories. Lithuania’s initiative, however, encompasses all available channels.

The state’s Ministry of Finance considers personal cards vital for the effective implementation of the responsible gaming policy.

A centralised database is expected to facilitate:

• monitoring of spending limits;
• quicker identification of problematic behaviour;
• restriction of access for at-risk player groups.

No Cash Operations: Next Phase of Reform

The regulatory changes envisage a gradual transition to a digital casino payment system. Beginning January 2029, all financial transactions will be exclusively processed through instruments linked to a user’s personal card. An adaptation period is set: over several years, businesses will be able to update their equipment and infrastructure to meet the new standards.

Concurrently, additional amendments aimed at enhancing oversight procedures and simplifying certain compliance aspects are being prepared. They will come into force starting on May 1st, 2027.

This reform reflects Lithuania’s ongoing effort to bolster industry supervision. The state has previously:

• restricted advertising displays;
• raised the minimum age for gambling to 21;
• supported the development of a unified loss-limit database.