Hungary’s state gambling operator undergoes leadership overhaul
Changes have been made at Szerencsejáték Zrt following Péter Magyar’s victory over Viktor Orbán in the Hungarian election.
Hungary.- Szerencsejáték Zrt, the Hungarian state-owned gambling and betting monopoly, has undergone major changes to its leadership. The country’s new finance and economy minister András Kármán has confirmed the appointment of Marcell Olajos as the operator’s chairman following the dismissal of Zoltán Guller in June.
Board members Krisztina Rédey, Gábor Bordás, Szabolcs Ágostházy and Zsófia Illés-Puka have also now been removed, while Marianna Gabriella Poltné Palásthy resigned. The changes were made by the new TISZA government following the April parliamentary election in which Péter Magyar came to power, ending the 16-year reign of Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz government from May 9.
The leadership restructuring forms part of a broader review of state-owned organisations. Kármán said the leadership changes are intended to deliver on TISZA’s pledge to eliminate “political influence and unauthorised advantage” and to introduce “corruption-free and transparent management” in state enterprises.
However, Poltné Palásthy, the wife of former Prosecutor General Péter Polt, has criticised the move as a “politically motivated purge”, accusing TISZA of repeating practices it had condemned under Fidesz.
Szerencsejáték Zrt holds exclusive rights to the Hungarian national lottery and also continues to dominate in sports betting in Hungary despite the country opening its online sports betting market to European Economic Area operators in 2023.
However, the government has already announced a full review of Szerencsejáték Zrt’s monopoly as well as its governance and the allocation of gambling revenues under the previous administration. There will be a focus placed on sponsorships and public funding distributed during the Fidesz era. This could influence the future direction of Hungary’s gambling sector.
