Hungary
- Online sports bettingRegulated
- Online casinoRegulated
- Online pokerRegulated
- Horse race bettingRegulated
- iLotteryMonopoly
- Headline tax
- 15% GGR
- Licence required
- Yes
- Last verified
- 4 Aug 2026
Summary
Hungary half-opened. Under Act XXXIV of 1991 on gambling operations, amendments adopted in July 2022 converted online sports betting from a state monopoly into a licence-based regime from 1 January 2023, and companies established anywhere in the European Economic Area may now apply to the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH) for a remote gambling licence of up to seven years. The conditions are steep: five years of licensed online gambling experience gained in an EEA state, and a bad-actor clause that bars anyone who offered unlicensed gambling in the EEA in the preceding five years. Online casino did not open. It remains available only to a company that already holds one of Hungary twelve land-based casino concessions and must be offered through the same licensee company. Lotteries and drawing games stay with the state gambling organiser, Szerencsejatek Zrt. Gambling tax is 15 per cent of net gambling revenue for remote gaming and 30 per cent for casino up to HUF 10 billion. The SZTFH publishes registers of blocked gambling websites, blocked advertising pages and prohibited payment accounts.
Key facts
- Regulator
- Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH)
- Regulator type
- Dedicated regulator
- Headline tax
- 15% GGR
- Licence required
- Yes
- Minimum age
- 18+
- Tax base
- Gambling tax is charged monthly on net gambling revenue. ICLG and CMS both report 15 per cent for online sports betting and remote gaming, and 30 per cent for casino and online casino where annual net gambling revenue is up to HUF 10 billion, above which the charge is HUF 3 billion plus 10 per cent of the excess. ICLG separately reports drawing games at 30 per cent of net monthly gambling revenue and bookmaking betting at 20 per cent of net gambling revenue reduced by invalid bets. The headline rate recorded here is the 15 per cent remote gaming rate.
- Capital
- Budapest
- Currency
- HUF
- Official languages
- Hungarian
Licensing
- Licence required
- Yes
- Application window
- Rolling
- Local establishment required
- Not yet verified
- Local server required
- Not yet verified
- Barriers to entry
- For online sports betting the barrier is qualification rather than scarcity: five years of licensed online gambling experience in an EEA state, a bad-actor clause barring anyone that operated unlicensed gambling in the EEA in the previous five years, and substantial capital. CMS reports a HUF 1 billion minimum capital requirement for online casinos. For online casino the barrier is structural and effectively closed, because the applicant must already hold one of the twelve Hungarian land-based casino concessions. A licence fee figure was widely quoted in trade reporting but could not be traced to a source we fetched, so no fee is recorded here.
Licence types
Remote gambling licence
- Scope
- Online sports betting. Open to companies established in the European Economic Area that have at least five years of licensed online gambling experience gained in an EEA state.
- Term
- Up to 7 years, set case by case by the SZTFH
Online casino licence
- Scope
- Online casino games including card games. May only be applied for by a company that holds a concession to operate a land-based casino in Hungary, and must be offered through the same licensee company.
Land-based casino concession
- Scope
- Physical casinos. The concession system is limited to twelve licences.
- Term
- Up to 35 years
Card club licence
- Scope
- Card rooms, a liberalised activity under the Gambling Act.
- Term
- Up to 15 years
Taxation
- Headline GGR tax
- 15% GGR
- Effective date
- Not yet verified
- Corporate tax
- 9%
- Tax base
- Gambling tax is charged monthly on net gambling revenue. ICLG and CMS both report 15 per cent for online sports betting and remote gaming, and 30 per cent for casino and online casino where annual net gambling revenue is up to HUF 10 billion, above which the charge is HUF 3 billion plus 10 per cent of the excess. ICLG separately reports drawing games at 30 per cent of net monthly gambling revenue and bookmaking betting at 20 per cent of net gambling revenue reduced by invalid bets. The headline rate recorded here is the 15 per cent remote gaming rate.
Compliance
- Minimum age
- 18+
- National self-exclusion
- Not yet verified
- KYC requirements
- Not yet verified
- Stake limits
- Not yet verified
Enforcement
- ISP blocking
- Yes
- DNS blocking
- Not yet verified
- Payment blocking
- Yes
- App store takedowns
- Not yet verified
- Administrative penalties
- ICLG reports a maximum administrative fine of HUF 100 million, approximately EUR 252,000, and for illegal advertising a fine from HUF 10 million up to ten times the profit made from the advertising.
- Operator liability
- The SZTFH publishes four gambling registers: a public-record register of licences, a register of blocked gambling websites, a register of blocked gambling advertising pages, and a register of prohibited payment accounts. Under section 36/G of the Gambling Act the Authority identifies unlicensed operators for the blocking list, an ISP blocking system is in place, and the Authority can order payment service providers to refuse transactions to listed accounts.
Outlook
The unresolved question is whether the 2023 opening is real. ICLG records European Commission proceedings begun in autumn 2023 that are still pending, and states that the compatibility of the regime with EU law remains unanswered. Watch three things: whether the SZTFH licence register starts to show operators other than the state incumbent, whether the online casino restriction to land-based concession holders survives the EU challenge, and whether the concession structure itself is revisited. Until the register moves, Hungary is best read as a market that is licensed on paper and concentrated in practice.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a foreign operator get an online casino licence in Hungary?
- Not on its own. Only a company that already holds a concession to operate a land-based casino in Hungary can apply for an online casino licence, and the online games must be offered through the same licensee company.
- What opened in Hungary in 2023?
- Online sports betting. From 1 January 2023 EEA companies may apply to the SZTFH for a remote gambling licence, subject to five years of prior licensed EEA online gambling experience and a bad-actor clause.
- How is online gambling taxed in Hungary?
- Remote gaming, including online sports betting, is taxed at 15 per cent of net gambling revenue monthly. Casino and online casino are taxed at 30 per cent of net gambling revenue up to HUF 10 billion, then HUF 3 billion plus 10 per cent of the excess.
Sources
- Szabalyozott Tevekenysegek Felugyeleti Hatosaga (Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities)
Szabalyozott Tevekenysegek Felugyeleti Hatosaga
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026 - Szerencsejatek-felugyelet (Gambling Supervision)
Szabalyozott Tevekenysegek Felugyeleti Hatosaga
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026 - Gambling Laws and Regulations 2026 - Hungary
ICLG (International Comparative Legal Guides)
ICLG renders the regulator name as Supervisory Authority for Regulatory Affairs (SARA) and CMS as Supervisory Authority of Regulatory Affairs. The record uses the Hungarian abbreviation SZTFH and the English rendering used on the authority own site, Szabalyozott Tevekenysegek Felugyeleti Hatosaga.
Tier 3Accessed 4 Aug 2026 - Tier 3Accessed 4 Aug 2026Published 18 Feb 2026