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Despite changes to online betting rules that European courts have said were too exclusionary, one of the country’s leading gambling lawyers says there are no signs of new operators entering Hungary.
At the start of 2023, new regulations came into effect to allow operators from outside Hungary to apply for online betting licences.
The country’s former policy had been the subject of a lengthy challenge at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which had eventually ruled that it breached EU free trade laws.
But more than a year later, a leading gambling attorney says he is not aware of a single new entrant on the market.
“We have no information on what’s happening behind the scenes; whether international operators have applied, but it’s [either] been rejected or they've not even tried to get a licence,” said Gábor Helembai, a lawyer with the Budapest office of law firm Taylor Wessing, speaking at the Prague Gaming & TECH Summit on Wednesday (March 27).
“From a practical point of view the market has not changed” since January 2023, said Helembai. Hungary currently has two online casinos and two online sportsbooks, which have all been in operation for several years.
Regulations governing online casino licences have not changed and remain oriented towards local operators, which legal observers, including Helembai, say are still against EU law.
The practical impossibility for a foreign operator to get both an online betting and casino licence may also be effectively excluding many operators that could potentially apply for a betting licence.
“An international operator that has an online casino and online betting on the same website has a very tricky situation,” said Helembai, as they could be breaking the law with one half of their service while being licensed for the other.
The Budapest attorney said his office had received numerous questions hoping to find a way through to comply with regulations.
“I think we will see legal debates about this,” he said.
Rules around advertising are also strict in Hungary and TV commercials and online banner ads for licensed operators are rare, said Helembai.
Despite this, when major sporting events roll through Hungary, often featuring competitors emblazoned with gambling sponsors that are technically illegal in the country, regulators turn a blind eye.
Hungary has several football teams involved in European competitions and hosts major international events such as the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Some Formula 1 gambling sponsors are already controversial. This season sees the Swiss F1 team Sauber sponsored by cryptocurrency gambling outfit Stake.com, which may have to be blacked out in the team's home country because the operator is not licensed in Switzerland.
Stake also lacks a licence in Hungary, but regulators are unlikely to take action if the brand features in the race.
“If you read the wording of the law, no sponsoring would be allowed by non-licensed operators,” said Helembai.
“Of course [at these events] you can see sponsors coming from the gaming industry.
“My suspicion is that these international events are really, really important for Hungary, so the authority doesn’t really care about these sponsorships and is looking in the other direction,” he said.
