New Hungarian government to review national lottery and sports betting monopoly
Péter Magyar’s new TISZA administration will assess Szerencsejáték Zrt’s position as part of a review of state-run bodies.
Hungary.- The new Hungarian government is to reviewSzerencsejáték Zrt‘s monopoly over the country’s national lottery and sports betting offerings. Following the victory of Prime Minister Péter Magyar of TISZA over Viktor Orbán last month, the new administration has announced a review of all state-run organisations.
Founded in 1991, Szerencsejáték Zrt is Hungary’s state-owned gaming and national lottery provider of Hungary holding the exclusive legal right to distribute draw-based games, scratch cards and organised sports betting throughout the country. The new finance minister András Kármán has accused the operator of diverting revenues for “propaganda purposes” rather than channelling profits transparently into the state treasury.
Kármán has pledged a “corruption-free and transparent management” of public enterprises. He also said that special sector taxes introduced during the Orbán years would be gradually phased out, signalling a broader reassessment of how gambling revenues have been used to support public media and politically aligned sponsorships.
The incoming culture and social relations minister Zoltán Tarr said the government would also review public media and cultural financing mechanisms linked to lottery-generated funds.
The move follows the completion of cabinet appointments last week. Committees have been tasked with examining the performance and political entanglements of state enterprises after 16 years of rule by Viktor Orbán and the Fidesz party.
The main gambling legislation in Hungary is Act XXXIV of 1991, which covers casinos, sports betting, lotteries and online gaming. Since 2023, Hungary has allowed operators based in the European Economic Area to offer online sports betting, while concessions remain tightly controlled and Szerencsejáték Zrt dominates the retail market. Regulatory duties fall to the Supervisory Authority for Regulatory Affairs (SZTFH), led by Dr Marcell Bíró. The regulator also enforces the blocking of illegal operators.
Szerencsejáték Zrt reported revenue of €3.25bn in 2024, while it paid €447m in taxes and regulatory contributions. Hungary’s wider gambling market is valued at over $1.7bn, with online betting growing fast. A reassessment of its privileges would alight with TISZA’s more pro-European Union stance, but it’s been suggested that the government may not risk dismantling Szerencsejáték Zrt’s position completely given its size and importance as a tax generator.
