Not an EU issue
The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice has ruled that slot machines located outside casinos in Hungary are legal.
In its June 11 ruling, the court referred the case back to by Hungarian courts, but said legislation that “authorizes the operation and playing of certain games of chance only in casinos constitutes a restriction on the freedom to provide services.”
In addition, the ruling stated that any measure “that drastically increases the amount of taxes levied on the operation of slot machines in amusement arcades can also be considered restrictive. “That would be the case if the national court found that the tax increase prevented profitable operation of slot machines in amusement arcades.”
The European court acknowledged the importance of consumer protection but left it to Hungarian courts to decide whether these decisions “pursue those objectives in a consistent and systematic manner.”
