Government-close businessmen taking over online betting in Hungary?

The Hungarian authorities are once again blocking the biggest online betting sites such as bet365, Unibet and Betfair. The aim is to protect players, but those who are close to the government would still benefit. 

In an interesting timing, the Hungarian authorities have again started blocking international online sports betting sites that have been declared illegal – mfor reports. The state-run Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (with the Hungarian acronym: SZTFH) announced on 7 September that it will block websites such as bet365, Unibet and Betfair, which means these globally known sports betting sites are not accessible from Hungarian IP addresses.

According to the official statement, the purpose of the SZTFH is only to protect players. The timing is interesting, as the authority announced at the end of June that it will work with banks to block bank accounts linked to illegal gambling, i.e. restrict deposits and withdrawals from unlicensed gambling sites from July. Hungarian banks will refuse to accept credit card payments to illegal gambling sites. These sites not only violate Hungary’s strict regulations on the protection of minors and vulnerable groups, but also fail to ensure the protection of players’ personal and banking data.

– goes the reasoning of the authority, which has promised to keep illegal online gambling under constant surveillance, impose fines if necessary and block the websites concerned.

Read also:

• Are online casinos legal in Hungary? – Read our article HERE
• Fascinating Casino Facts and Statistics in Hungary

Online betting is currently possible on the sites owned by entrepreneurs close to Fidesz

In July this year, the monopoly of the state-owned Szerencsejáték Plc. was abolished. This has led to huge competition in the 100 billion forints (EUR 259 740) online sports betting market. The company of Árpád Habony and István Garancsi (two well-known Fidesz-oligarchs), LVC Diamond Ltd., has been granted the state licence. On 27 June, the Regulatory Authority for the Supervision of Regulated Activities granted a remote gambling licence to LVC Diamond Ltd. under the name Vegas Sports. This means that the company, which also operates casinos in Budapest, can now legally place bets on various sporting events on the vegas.hu website, according to the registry of the SZTFH.