Lithuania’s online gambling growth wasn’t enough to offset retail declines in the first quarter of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took a bite out of the market’s gaming revenue.

Figures released this week by Lithuania’s Gaming Control Authority (GCA) show gaming revenue falling 2.8% year-on-year to €25.9m in the first three months of 2020, despite turnover rising nearly 14% to €296.5m.

Online gambling’s share of revenue improved to 45.5% following the closure of retail operations in mid-March in response to the coronavirus. Retail revenue slipped 23.3% to €14.1m as the mass suspension of live sports pushed retail betting down by one-third to just €1.8m. Land-based slots (€9m) and table games (€3.4m) reported slightly less severe double-digit declines.

The market’s seven online gambling licensees accounted for the bulk (68%) of Q1’s gambling turnover, which pushed revenue up 39% to €11.8m. Slots accounted for €5.5m of this take, nearly doubling year-on-year, while online sports revenue rose 14.6% to €6m and table games contributed the rest.