Technical rules implemented by the hungarian gambling regulator for market opening

The measures form part of Hungary’s liberalisation of gambling.

The Hungarian Supervisory Authority for Regulatory Affairs (SZTFH) has issued a decree to implement technical rules that will pave the way for the opening of the country’s online sports betting and casino markets. The rules include the technical requirements for online gambling systems and platforms, as well as procedures for player registration and the use of electronic payment methods. The regulator is expected to begin accepting applications from operators interested in obtaining licenses to operate in Hungary in the near future. The market is set to open on 1 October 2023, with a tax rate of 30% on gross gambling revenue.

To obtain approval from the SZTFH to operate online gambling in Hungary, operators must show a minimum of five years’ experience in licensed online gaming in a European Economic Area state. The regulation prohibits licensing any operator that has provided unlicensed gaming services in the five years before applying.

Hungarian gambling licence fees and taxes

Operators applying for online gambling licenses in Hungary will be required to pay a license fee of HUF 600m (approximately €1.57m), in addition to an application fee of HUF 10m. They will also be responsible for paying a supervision fonline ee amounting to 2.5% of their gross gambling revenue, up to a maximum of HUF 10m. The gaming tax has been set at 15% of the gross gambling revenue. Additionally, operators will be required to have a minimum share capital of HUF 1bn.

On January 1, Hungary’s state monopoly on gambling ended due to an amendment to the country’s Gambling Act that was passed in February 2022. This amendment introduced a competitive licensing process, as the European Union Court of Justice had ruled that the monopoly system violated EU law in 2017. As a result, players are now allowed to maintain balances with multiple operators.

Despite the new competitive license process introduced in Hungary, only the former monopoly Szerencsejáték Zrt, operating Tippmixpro.hu, has been issued a license by the SZTFH. Additionally, three land-based casinos have received permission to offer online casino through tethered licenses. At present, no foreign operators have been approved by the regulator.

According to the new decree, Hungarian operators can now offer early cash outs to their players. In addition, operators must provide a safer gambling feature that explicitly warns players of the increased risk of addiction when using the feature. This warning must be displayed in the same font size as promotional text to ensure it is clearly visible to players.