Hungary installs new Szerencsejáték CEO as government overhaul deepens
The appointment completes another stage of the TISZA government’s restructuring of Hungary’s state-owned gambling sector.
Hungary.- Zoltán Sólyom has been named as the new chief executive of Hungary’s state-owned gambling operator Szerencsejáték Zrt., marking the latest step in an overhaul of state-run organisations under the TISZA government. Finance Minister András Kármán announced the decision via his Facebook page.
Szerencsejáték has been without a permanent leader since the dismissal of former CEO Zoltán Guller in June. In July, the company’s board was overhauled as Kármán pushed for a reset of the organisation amid a review of state assets and public institutions spanning sectors including gambling, energy and public services.
Announcing Sólyom’s appointment, Kármán sharply criticised the company’s previous leadership, alleging that the operator had been poorly managed and used to channel political funding during the administration of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Fidesz government.
“Szerencsejáték Zrt., one of Hungary’s largest companies and its exclusive gambling operator, became a cash dispenser for the NER – the ‘System of National Cooperation’.” he wrote. “Billions of forints of taxpayers’ money were distributed through the company with no transparency or justification, and on political grounds, to businesses close to Fidesz.”
Sólyom has a background in insurance. He established insurance consultancy and brokerage firm Palladium Consulting in 1997 after holding senior management positions at Generali. According to Kármán, he has served since August on the supervisory boards of both Szerencsejáték and Corvinus International Investment, experience the minister said provided him with insight into the gambling operator before assuming executive leadership.
“Today marks the end of the era of secrecy and abuse at Szerencsejáték Zrt,” Kármán said. “I have appointed Zoltán Sólyom as CEO because, during the selection process, he convinced me that he would be a capable leader and a responsible steward of the company. “I expect the company to become a modern, efficient business that operates, above all, in the interests of Hungarian taxpayers.”
The office of former Prime Minister Orbán has defended the company’s previous management and financial practices. It said Szerencsejáték had operated lawfully and that decisions on funding allocations had been made through transparent processes.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have also been overhauling Hungary’s gambling regulator. New legislation approved in September stripped concession-related duties from the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH) and abolished its Concessions Council. The authority’s role has been limited to granting prior consent for concession arrangements rather than awarding concessions directly, a power now held by designated government ministers.
