The European Gaming and Betting Association filed a formal complaint with the Bank of Lithuania against Walletto over alleged processing of payments linked to illegal online gambling operators.
The complaint followed an EGBA investigation into illegal gambling websites and apps targeting European consumers. During that work, test transactions allegedly produced evidence suggesting Walletto’s services were used in connection with deposits on several illegal gambling platforms.
EGBA said the case points to a wider problem across Europe’s payments chain. Illegal gambling operators, it argued, cannot operate at scale without access to payments and depend on the same mainstream payment methods and card networks that consumers use every day.
The association said that as long as illegal operators can accept deposits and process transactions, they can continue to function outside EU licensing regimes, evade regulatory controls and expose consumers to harm. It said illegal platforms lack the safeguards required of regulated operators, including robust identity verification, safer gambling tools and anti-money laundering controls, and offer no guarantee that winnings will be paid.
EGBA also said weak identity checks can leave minors and self-excluded players able to access illegal sites. It said illicit operators exploit vulnerabilities across payment service providers, acquirers and card networks to keep reaching European consumers.
The association called for a more coordinated response from policymakers, gambling and financial regulators, payment service providers, acquirers and card schemes. It said card schemes are uniquely placed to act because they set the rules of the networks through which payments to illegal platforms flow and can see transaction-level data that other parties cannot. Maarten Haijer, EGBA’s secretary general, said payment providers should not be allowed to process transactions for illegal gambling operators, and EGBA said it will continue pushing for coordinated action to shut illegal operators out of Europe’s online gambling market.
