Is online gambling legal in Hungary?

Legal overview

Gambling in Hungary is governed by Act XXXIV of 1991 on the organisation of gambling (Szjtv.) and supervised by the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH). Casino gaming is a state monopoly: it may be run by qualifying state entities or by companies to which the right has been transferred through a concession. This structure also controls who may offer casino games online.

According to SZTFH, online casino games may be organised only by a concession company that operates a land-based casino in Hungary, and only with a separate SZTFH authorisation that runs for the term of its casino licence. The games must be accessible from Hungarian IP addresses only, the servers must sit in the European Economic Area and the authority must have continuous remote access to them. Remote gambling, which covers online betting, has been open since 1 January 2023 to Hungarian and EEA companies that meet the legal conditions. Lotteries remain with the state. In 2018 the Court of Justice of the EU ruled in Sporting Odds (C-3/17) that tying the online casino licence to a Hungarian land-based casino unjustifiably restricts the freedom to provide services, but the rule is still in the law.

Offering gambling to Hungarian players without a Hungarian licence is illegal. SZTFH keeps public registers of blocked gambling websites, blocked advertising pages and prohibited payment accounts, and the advertising of unlicensed gambling is banned. In September 2026 parliament removed SZTFH's role in gambling concession procedures, which the government may now assign to a minister or another central body, while gambling supervision stays with SZTFH for now. The government has also ordered a review of the authority's future.