| Is online gambling permitted? | Yes |
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| Licence available for… | Betting | Yes |
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| Sports | Yes |
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| Card Games | Yes |
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| Casino | Yes |
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| Lottery | No (monopoly) |
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Notes
The current regulation on online gambling provides that:
- only the state monopoly operator Nemzeti Lóversenyfogadást-szervezőKft. has the right to offer online horse race betting; and
- online casino games (including card games) may be operated only by licensees authorised to operate land-based casinos in Hungary, by offering the online casino games through the same licensee company as is operating the land-based casino.
On 1 January 2023, amendments to the Hungarian gambling regulatory framework came into force which ended the online betting monopoly of Szerencsejáték Zrt. and allowed for the issuance of licences for online betting to operators located in the European Economic Area. EEA entities may apply for a licence via their Hungarian registered representatives.
It is to be noted that the Hungarian gambling authority has the right to order Hungarian ISPs to block access to those websites on which unlicensed online gambling is offered. In addition, no advertisement may be disseminated relating to unlicensed gambling. In the event of the publication of gambling advertisements in violation of these provisions, the gambling authority may impose a fine upon the advertiser, the advertising service provider, the publisher of advertising and the person who participates in the advertisement collectively.
In its preliminary ruling No. C 3/17 in 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) found that the Hungarian law on online casinos, which requires operators to have a land-based casino in Hungary in order to receive a licence to operate an online casino, is a restriction on the freedom to provide services under Article 56 of the TFEU that cannot be justified. The Hungarian Ministry of Justice issued a press release in which it declared that Hungarian authorities will continue to use all available criminal and administrative law instruments against gambling operators who illegally engage in such activities without a valid licence. The law on which the CJEU’s decision is based on is still in force; accordingly, it is up to the Hungarian courts to apply the CJEU’s findings in individual local cases. It is to be noted however, that the gambling authority suspended blocking unlicensed gaming sites (except for known fraudulent sites) “for technical reasons” and as such, most of the foreign gaming and betting sites are available from Hungary at the moment.
Last updated: April 2023
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