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Poker in Lithuania

Introduction

Capital: Vilnius

Population: 2,848,000

Currency: Euro (€)

Timezone: UTC+2

Casinos with Poker

  • Olympic Casino in Vilnius
  • Olympic Casino in Panevėžys
  • Olympic Casino in Klaipėda
  • Olympic Casino in Kaunas
  • Casino Admiral

Lithuania is a former member state of the Soviet Union who became independent in 1989. During the hard Communist regime, all forms of gambling were prohibited. In the 1980’s, the dictatorship softened and some casinos were starting to open up – however, mostly in the Russian motherland, not in the smaller republics.

So it took a while for the country to establish the legal gambling landscape. Legislation was first passed in 2000. Until then, the betting men and women of Lithuania had to turn to the black market.

Today, the World Casino Directory website lists 60 casinos and 33 poker tables across Lithuania. They also share some other interesting bits of information.

You need to be 18 to buy a lottery ticket or play bingo – however, you can’t enter a land casino until you’re 21. Also, any type of advertising for gambling is illegal, with the exception of sponsorship of professional sports teams.

The website also mentions a so-called “self-exclusion list”. This is a registry citizens can voluntarily be listed on if they don’t want to be allowed in casinos. This, evidently, is for people who feel they might have a gambling problem.

Famous Lithuanian Poker Players

Antanas Guoga, better known as his “stage name” Tony G, was a regular on a number of popular poker shows. He appeared on Poker After Dark, airing on NBC between 2007-2011, and on the PokerStars Big Game, airing on the Fox Network between 2010-2011.

On these shows, he gained notoriety for his harsh and biting table talk. He played both tournaments and high stakes cash games on camera.

On Hendon, Tony G’s profile shows a little over $6 million in live tournament earnings, topping the Lithuanian list.

He also served one term as a Member of the European Parliament from Lithuania, from 2014 to 2019.

Second on the Lithuanian all time list on Hendon is Matas Cimbolas with $3.2 million. His biggest live tournament score is taking 2nd place in the $10K Main Event at the WPT Los Angeles Poker Classics in 2019 for $646,930.

Online, he plays under the screen name “bebaimis777” and racked up more than $3.8 million in online MTT cashes.

– Playing Live Poker in Lithuania –

   Live Poker Legislation in Lithuania

A lot of this topic was covered in our intro. Land-based casino gambling is legal in Lithuania. Licences are issued by The Gaming Control Authority.

  Live Poker Venues in Lithuania

The largest casino in the Baltic region is the Olympic Casino in Vilnius. They have No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha and 5-Card PLO cash tables running on €1/€2 stakes. All their cash tables are max 9-handed.

As for tournaments, there’s plenty of events to choose from in their establishment. Some days as many as 4 tourneys are on the way. The buy-ins range from €30 up to €200.

The Olympic Casino brand has 3 other venues in Lithuania. They are located in Panevėžys, Klaipėda and Kaunas.

The other major land casino chain in the country is Casino Admiral. They operate a total of 5 venues – 3 in Vilnius, 2 in Kaunas. However, they do not offer classic poker games. What they have listed on the website are all games that are played against the house – Russian poker, Oasis poker, etc.

– Casinos and Poker Rooms in Lithuania –

Olympic Casino in Vilnius

Olympic Casino in Panevėžys

Olympic Casino in Klaipėda

Olympic Casino in Kaunas

Casino Admiral

  Online Poker Legislation in Lithuania

The first time legislation regarding online gambling was passed in Lithuania was in 2016 – very late by all standards. The European Union pressured its Baltic member country to create a properly regulated online gambling market.

Online poker, just like any form of land-based gambling, is under the supervision of The Lithuanian Gaming Control Authority (LGCA). They are the one who issue licences.

The major poker sites – PokerStars, partypoker, etc – are legally available for Lithuanian players to play on.