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.

Sovereign state

Europe

ISO HU

Review due

Hungary: gambling regulation and licensing

Online sports bettingRegulated
Online casinoRegulated
Online pokerRegulated
Horse race bettingRegulated
iLotteryMonopoly

Regulator: Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities
Headline tax: 15% GGR
Licence required: Yes
Last verified: 30 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

Legal framework

Primary statutes

Act XXXIV of 1991 on gambling operations
1991. evi XXXIV. torveny a szerencsejatek szervezeserol
Year
1991
In force
Yes
Summary
The Gambling Act is the framework statute, supplemented by SZTFH Decree No. 20/2021 (X. 29.) on implementation. It divides gambling into activities reserved to the state gambling organiser, activities awarded by concession, and liberalised activities. Amendments adopted on 22 July 2022 opened online sports betting to licensed competition from 1 January 2023, introduced a bad-actor clause barring applicants that operated unlicensed gambling in an EEA state within the preceding five years, and required at least five years of licensed online gambling experience gained in an EEA state. Online casino games remained restricted to holders of a Hungarian land-based casino concession.

Key amendments

1 Jan 2023Online sports betting moved from a state monopoly to a licence-based regime open to EEA companies, subject to a five-year prior experience requirement and a bad-actor clause.

Case law

European Commission proceedings on the compatibility of the Hungarian online gambling regime with EU law
ICLG reports that proceedings commenced in autumn 2023 remain pending and that the compliance of the post-2023 regime with EU law is still an unanswered question. No outcome is asserted here.

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

Advertising

Advertising permitted: Yes
Affiliate rules: Affiliates are not separately licensed. Promotion of operators without an SZTFH licence is prohibited, which is the operative constraint on affiliate activity.
Celebrity and influencer rules: Appearing in an advertisement for gambling offered without an SZTFH licence is prohibited, which places direct personal exposure on anyone lending their name to an unlicensed operator.
Social media rules: The prohibition on advertising unlicensed gambling applies across media, including online and social channels.
Penalties for breach: SZTFH enforces the regime and can impose sanctions for unlawful advertising alongside its licensing and market-supervision powers.

Restrictions

Advertising gambling that is offered without a licence from the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH) is prohibited, so only licensed supply may be promoted.
The prohibition reaches participation in the advertising as well as its publication, so appearing in an advertisement for unlicensed gambling is itself caught.
SZTFH supervises the market and enforces the advertising rules alongside licensing.
General Hungarian advertising law applies in addition, including the protection of minors.

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.

iGT coverage of Hungary

Hungary Orders a Review Into Abolishing Its Own Gambling Regulator

Regulatory

3 Sept 2026

Hungary Orders a Review Into Abolishing Its Own Gambling Regulator

A government resolution published on 31 August instructs the justice minister to report by 30 September on whether the SZTFH can be wound up and its powers moved into government-run bodies. The regulator says it answers to Parliament, not to ministers.

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
CMS Expert Guide to gambling laws in CEE - Hungary
CMS Legal
Tier 3Accessed 4 Aug 2026Published 18 Feb 2026