iGaming alliance for Lithuania and Ukraine

The government of Lithuania has announced that its Gaming Control Authority regulator has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s Gambling and Lotteries Regulation Commission watchdog.

The small Baltic country’s Ministry of Finance used an official press release to proclaim that the new alliance builds upon an interim deal inked almost a year ago so as to see the two gaming regulators cooperate ‘in the field of supervision of gambling and lotteries’. The government department used the filing to additionally stress the importance of ‘international cooperation’ in controlling iGaming via the ‘exchange of information and best practices’ as well as the deepening of ‘knowledge in the field of business supervision, regulatory practices and the enforcement of legislation’.

Divergent directions:

Lithuania is home to almost 2.8 million people and recently approved new legislation that is to waive the existing requirement for locally-licensed online gambling operators to maintain a domiciled business presence within the country. For its part and Ukraine, which is currently involved in a war with neighboring Russia, ratified a measure in July of 2020 that reversed a previous ban on iGaming although it has since struggled to codify a concrete range of tax and licensing issues.

Arranged aims:

Virginijus Dauksys serves as the Director for the Gaming Control Authority and he used the press release to declare that the fresh alliance is to see his organization work with its Ukrainian counterpart in pursuing ‘the targeted objectives in the agreed areas.’ The regulator moreover pronounced that these fields are to encompass the ‘exchange of legal information and market regulation practices’ alongside how to fastidiously apply ‘legislation and the requirements for businesses.’

Read a statement from Dauksys…

“We are very pleased with this agreement and with the fact that our new partners are colleagues of the authority of this tenacious, unyielding and proud country. We hope, this cooperation will be mutually beneficial and we will support and assist our Ukrainian colleagues in their needs to our best abilities and in the scope of our competence.”

Planning potential:

Lithuania has permitted its residents to enjoy a range of iGaming entertainment since 2016 with many of the world’s largest online casino and sportsbetting operators including the likes of Betsson AB, Entain and Enlabs AB now holding a considerable presence in the nation. Dauksys finished by avowing that his organization’s fresh relationship with the Gambling and Lotteries Regulation Commission could lead the pair to jointly coordinate ‘seminars, lectures or other formats of exchange of practices’ for the benefit of specialists in both countries.