Hungary Proposes Amending Online Gambling Laws

The Hungarian government has proposed a complete overhaul of existing online gambling laws, which will see remote gambling defined as "a non-liberalized activity" subject to tight regulations.

Proposed Gambling Reforms

Under the bill, online gambling will be defined as a "non-liberalized activity", meaning it can only be operated by the state gambling company or by private operators through concession agreements with the state. The definition of remote gambling will be expanded to include not only horserace betting and card games, but also sports betting and online casinos.

According to the draft legislation, which has been filed with the European Commission, foreign operators must establish a domestic concession company in order to provide online gambling services to Hungarians. The companies must have registered capital of at least HUF 200 million (€667,000).

Unlimited Licenses

The Hungarian government will commit to issuing an unlimited number of licenses for a five-year period, while subjecting licensed operators to a 20% flat tax on gross gaming revenues payable every two weeks, in addition to quarterly supervisory fees of 2.25% of GGR.

There is good news for punters in the proposed laws: under the amendment, incomes from legal online gambling would not be subject to personal income tax, meaning that successful Hungarian online poker players will not have to worry about the taxman while they clean up at the tables.

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