EGBA files complaint with Bank of Lithuania over alleged illegal gambling payments processed by Walletto

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has filed a complaint against Lithuanian fintech Walletto, alleging it processed payments linked to illegal online gambling operators. For PSPs, acquirers, and card schemes, the point is not the accusation alone: EGBA is pushing for payment providers and networks to be treated as a control point for illegal gambling traffic.

1. EGBA said it lodged the complaint with the Bank of Lithuania after its own investigation, which included test transactions. The complaint names Walletto specifically, but the trade body framed it as evidence of a wider payments problem rather than a one-off dispute.
2. According to EGBA, illegal gambling operators cannot operate at scale without access to mainstream payment methods and card networks used for ordinary consumer spending. That makes onboarding, monitoring, and scheme-level controls the practical issue for providers, not just the operators themselves.
3. The association called for a coordinated response from policymakers, gambling regulators, financial regulators, payment service providers, acquirers, and card schemes. In its view, card schemes are in a particularly strong position because they set the network rules and can see transaction-level data that other parties do not have.
4. EGBA said financial regulators should fully and consistently enforce existing rules, including the EU’s Payment Services Directive and anti-money laundering laws, against payment providers. It also said card schemes should take steps to stop payment providers from using their networks to process illegal gambling transactions.
5. Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA, said payment providers should not be allowed to process transactions for illegal gambling operators, adding that illegal operators exploit legitimate financial channels and the mainstream payment networks consumers use every day. He said card schemes have a crucial role because they set the rules for those networks and see transaction flows no one else can.