Hungary Parliament Limits SZTFH Gambling Powers

Hungary’s Parliament has approved measures that would reduce the role of the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH) in gambling concessions and dissolve its Concessions Council.

The legislation, identified as T/639, was approved on October 2 with 135 votes in favour. A further 46 lawmakers voted against the measures, while six abstained. The bill was originally submitted to parliament on September 8.

Under the changes, responsibility for concession agreements would be removed from the SZTFH. The authority would also no longer be responsible for supervising concession tenders, issuing invitations to submit offers or approving the exit from, amendment of and signing of concession contracts.

The legislation also provides for the dissolution of the SZTFH’s Concessions Council, which was appointed under the previous Fidesz administration.

The TISZA government plans to review the SZTFH’s activities concerning gambling contracts as part of its wider examination of gambling concessions and agreements. Companies involved in the process will have 30 days to submit information concerning their ownership and management.

The SZTFH has rejected claims about its involvement in awarding concessions. The authority has stated that it does not grant concessions, as this responsibility falls to a separate government institution.

The review comes as the new administration examines Hungary’s gambling concessions and contracts. The country’s online gambling and sports betting reforms introduced in 2022 and 2023 are also part of the broader scrutiny.