To obtain authorization from SZTFH to operate online gambling in Hungary, operators must demonstrate a minimum of five years of experience in licensed online gaming within a European Economic Area state. The decree prohibits licensing operators that have provided unlicensed gaming within the five years preceding their application.

Fees and taxes for Hungarian gambling licenses

The fee for Hungarian gambling licenses (the online segment) is set at HUF600 million (€1.57 million). Applicants must pay an application fee of HUF10 million. Additionally, operators must pay a supervision fee equal to 2.5% of gross gambling revenue, capped at HUF10 million. Gaming tax is established at 15% of gross gambling revenue. Operators must also maintain a share capital of at least HUF1 billion.

Hungary’s state gambling monopoly ended on January 1, following an amendment to the country’s Gambling Act in February 2022. The amendment introduces a competitive licensing process after the European Union Court of Justice ruled in 2017 that the monopoly system was inconsistent with EU law. Players can now maintain balances with multiple operators.

However, SZTFH has only granted a license to former monopoly Szerencsejáték Zrt, which operates Tippmixpro.hu. Three land-based casinos hold permission to offer online casino services via a tethered license. As of the current Hungarian gambling regulatory landscape, no foreign operators have been approved yet.

The new decree permits early cash-outs and introduces a responsible gambling feature requiring operators to “clearly inform players of the increased risk of excessive gambling and addiction associated with using this function.” This information must be displayed in the same font size as promotional text.

The case was brought by Sporting Odds, UK sports betting operator, with the intend of contesting the € 11k fine levied against it by the Hungarian tax authority, for operating in that country without a license.

As the rationale behind the decision, the Court re-emphasized that strict concession regulatory prerequisites do not constitute enough reason for activating the public health and consumer protection mechanism in reducing the gambling offer, adding that the country’s restrictive measures were not primarily compiled with the abovementioned intent. Even if Member States are to the extent free to regulate gambling according to their respective national policy priorities, their action is limited by the overall EU framework.

It is without any doubt that the Court’s decision fully delegitimizes the Hungarian gambling regulation currently in force, the discriminatory nature of which is opposite to the very essence of EU Industry regulation. Furthermore, this decision is expected to give rise to similar questions from other EU states and to initiate the series of claims for indemnities, on behalf of damages accrued by the discriminative provisions and unreasonable sanctions.

In this particular case, it was ascertained that the member states, in this particular case Hungary, are prohibited from any sanctions, such as fines or IP blocking, so long as national legislation is in collision with the EU law. The judgement has been welcomed by all the Industry’s leading legal experts.

The European Organization for Gaming Law welcomes the Court’s decision, given it will contribute in improving costumer protection, freedom of establishment and in securing the level playing field for all the operators at the EU level, an accordance with the EU acquis values of free provisions of goods and services in the Internal Market.