The Hungarian Parliament is considering a number of amendments to the country’s online gambling legislation which could significantly change the playing field there.
The Hungarian house of law introduced an initiative to liberalize online gaming by reducing online gaming licenses issued by the state and eliminating the state monopoly on sports betting.
The measure would license the Szerencsejáték Zrt—Hungarian Gambling Inc.—for internet sports betting only and allow some of the state’s casinos to acquire licenses for poker and mobile casinos. Hungary would also license only two online casino operators.
If the amendments are approved, they would go into effect in September, but many analysts feel the parliament won’t make the changes saying the amendments are contradictory and poorly formulated.
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has also charged that the amendments are discriminatory since they give online licenses only to land-based operators to be in a strong opposition to the conception of a Single Market of the European Union.
