Radio station in Lithuania deemed guilty by Supreme Court for organizing a lottery game
A radio station in Lithuania, referred to as SZ, has been found guilty of organizing a phone-call game that resembled a lottery. The activity took place between February and March of 2021, during which the radio station promised lucrative rewards for participants who engaged in their game. The District Court of Vilnius City deemed SZ guilty of offering a lottery-esque game without a gambling license in 2021 before the Supreme Court of Lithuania reached the same conclusion recently.
Apart from the radio station, Top Sport is in the news again for a CCTV related fine. ©Jonathan Velasquez/Unsplash
On February 01, 2021, SZ aired a game for all its Lithuanian listeners until March 05, 2021. In the game, the radio station played excerpts from a song and asked their listeners to identify it. Participants had to text their guesses to SZ, and the charge per SMS was €1. The participants who guessed correctly were added to pools with rewards of €30, €300, or €3,000. The prize fund of the competition was a whopping €30,000. Once the pool was closed, a lucky draw was initiated to pick the winner of the game.
After noticing the similarities between SZ’s on-air game and a lottery, The Gambling Supervisory Service under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania decided to launch an investigation. In September 2021, the regulator slapped a €900 fine on the radio station for violating Article 134, Part 2 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Lithuania. Three months later, the District Court of Vilnius City upheld this decision. In January 2022, SZ appealed against the decision and the district court rejected that appeal.
SZ had reopened the case
Three months after seeing its appeal turned down, the radio station’s lawyer managed to reopen the case. After legal proceedings, the case was ultimately handed over to the Supreme Court of Lithuania in December 2022. No positive outcome was in store for SZ, as the entire case was reviewed by the bench and the decision ultimately was not in favour of the radio station. The Supreme Court agreed with the previous decision announced by the Vilnius District Court after noticing the similarity between the radio station’s phone-in game and a lottery.
According to the Lithuanian Supreme Court, SZ’s game matched all traits of a lottery, from paying a token amount for entering the competition in the form of premium SMS charges to having rewards and a grand prize for winners that is bound to lure more players towards the game. Due to the striking resemblance, the Supreme Court also found the radio station guilty of offering a lottery-esque game to Lithuanian players without a gambling license. Further in its ruling, the Supreme Court noted all negative outcomes caused due to gambling. The list included several aspects, from players’ health to unlawful activities.
Gambling revenue rising in Lithuania
The Gambling Supervisory Service under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania has been strictly monitoring the gambling markets of the country. In November 2022, the Authority reported a 15% year-on-year online gambling revenue increase in its third quarter, showcasing how the number of gamblers and gambling activity is marking a gradual increase in the nation.
The Authority is not only monitoring the gambling activity but also looking at aspects surrounding it. This includes the advertisement of gambling, which is prohibited in the country, and also ensuring the licensed operators have a proper setup with all the required elements. Top Sport slipped up again this year and was issued a fine for improper installation of CCTV cameras.
Top Sport starts the new year with another fine
Lithuanian betting operator Top Sport was issued a fine of €15,000 in the first week of January this year, not for any gambling-related violation but for improper installation of CCTV cameras at the betting point and slot machine salon in Vilnius. After the Authority’s inspection, it was found that the visuals recorded on the CCTV cameras were blurry. Faces of employees, players and other people were not recognisable, and in addition to that, the amount of money being deposited or being paid out was not clear either.
In 2022, Top Sport was fined on three occasions. One out of these three fines was regarding the same issue with the CCTV cameras in September 2022. The renowned operator is present in 26 towns and has betting shops there. There are 62 Top Sport betting locations and 50 slot machine salons. In September, Top Sport had to pay €15,000 for the same issue with the cameras. The operator has now paid €30,000 in CCTV camera-related fines to the authority in a span of just three months.
