Lithuania's Seimas takes up mandatory gambler's card and cash ban; next plenary debate set for December 17

Lithuania's parliament has started work on a bill that would make a personal player card compulsory for all gambling and remove cash from gambling venues.

On November 10, 2026, the Seimas approved draft law No. XVP-1690 amending the Law on Gambling after its presentation, according to the Seimas press office. The Budget and Finance Committee will lead the review, and the Seimas plans to return to the bill in plenary on December 17. Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, citing the BNS news agency, reported that 34 members voted in favour, with none against or abstaining. The Government approved the draft on June 17, and Lithuania notified it to the European Commission under the TRIS procedure on August 18 (notification 2026/0439/LT).

What the bill would change

Vice Minister of Finance Rūta Carik, who presented the bill, told the Seimas that current rules only enforce a player's limits within one operator and do not stop the player from continuing at another. The card, physical or digital, would be issued to each player personally, and nobody could gamble without one. It would record the money and time limits the player chooses, and deposits and winnings would be registered centrally across all operators, online and land-based.

Operators would have to assess a player's income and financial capacity if the player's monthly loss limit exceeds €20,000. According to the Ministry of Finance, the player would need to show documents such as an employer's salary statement, an annual income declaration or bank statements, or would not be allowed to play. Cash would be dropped in all gambling venues. The ministry also proposes blocking websites that advertise illegal gambling sites or carry active links to them, not only the illegal sites themselves.

The amended law would take effect on May 1, 2027. The player card and cashless payment provisions would apply from January 1, 2029, giving operators a transition period to replace or upgrade gaming machines.

"The main goal of the changes is to reduce the accessibility of gambling and the harm to people's mental health," Virginijus Daukšys, head of the Gambling Supervisory Authority (LPT), said in a statement.

Ministry figures

The ministry said gambling companies received €4.89 billion in stakes in 2025 and paid out €4.6 billion in winnings, both up 15% on 2024. Lithuanian residents lost €274 million, compared with €242 million in 2024. Gambling tax paid to the state budget rose to €60.3 million from €48 million.

By October 31, 2026, the national self-exclusion register had received more than 101,000 requests, of which about 22,000 are active. The ministry said up to 60 new requests arrive each day, or about 1,500 a month; 84% come from men, and about 80% from people aged 21 to 40.

Other European approaches to cross-operator limits are covered in AskSpinner's report on deposit limits in Germany and Spain, and a US example of player ID and cashless play in Illinois.