Hungarian Assembly Passes Gaming Law Amendment

It has been reported this week that the Hungarian National Assembly has passed an amendment to its gaming law, which will require a five-year State concession for all online gambling and betting platforms offering their services on the Hungarian market. The amendment, initiated by the Minister of National Economy Mihaly Varga and passed by a 235-69 vote, will have the State Concession carry a prohibitive annual fee of HUF 100 million (GBP 290,632), a quarterly supervision fee of 2.5 percent with a minimum of HUF 100,000 and a maximum of HUF 50 million along with a fortnightly gambling tax of 20 percent on net revenue. All non-licensed companies operating in the market will be blacklisted and ISP blocked, and state lottery Szerencsejáték Zrt was given the right to participate in all three online activities - lottery, sports betting and casino.