All About Online Gambling in Hungary

Since its legalization by the Hungarian government in 2013, online gambling has been steadily gaining popularity in the country. What started with only a couple of dozen sites has turned into a popular pastime, with over 250 online gambling sites operating and flourishing in Hungary. In fact, the country boasts some of the best online casinos in the world. If you’re looking to try your luck in a Hungarian online casino, here’s everything you need to know…

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A Brief History of Hungarian Gambling Laws

Technically, gambling – offline – has been legal in Hungary since 1991, being regulated by the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary (the NAV). They control all offline gambling activity, as well as online gambling – which is controlled by state-owned and operated Szerencsejáték Zrt.  Since 2012, Szerencsejáték Zrt controls all online gambling related to sports betting, lottery and casinos – and since then, no smaller online casinos were permitted to operate slot machines.

Games at Hungarian Online Casinos

The most popular online Hungarian casino sites offer a variety of casino games such as poker, blackjack, and slot machines. There are also a significant share of sites that are promoting different forms of online sports betting and lotto. In the last two years, more and more Hungarian online casino businesses have begun offering casino experiences on mobile, and today there are over 20 mobile casinos operating.

Paying Taxes On Your Winnings

Luckily for online players, the Hungarian government only taxes online gambling providers and operators at the source, leaving your winnings in your hands. Smart tax laws by the Hungarian government have allowed the industry to flourish and have made the country’s online casino sites some of the most appealing in the world.

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Other Types of Online Gambling in Hungary

Online Bingo

Strangely, when compared to other European markets (such as the UK), both online and real life bingo are extremely unpopular in Hungary. It’s so unpopular, that back in 2009, the country opened one bingo hall – the Bingó Sugár – but it was so unpopular that it closed soon after.

This had a knock-on effect for online bingo too – seeing just how unpopular the real-life version was, no bingo sites really attempt to get a license to accept Hungarian players.

Online Poker

Poker is alive and well in Hungary, with both casinos in Budapest regularly organizing tournaments. Online poker is also legal in Hungary, although no home-grown online casinos currently are licensed to offer it. Hungarian players instead turn to offshore online casinos, to get their online poker fix.

Sports Betting

This is one of the most popular types of online betting in Europe, not just Hungary. Not surprisingly, it’s been nationalised and nw falls under the monopoly of state-owned Szerencsejáték Zrt, and Hungarian players can bet on sports online, via their subsidiary site, Tippmix.

Lottery Betting

Similar to its popularity worldwide, Hungarians enjoy offline and online gambling on the lottery. As with sports betting, the lottery is owned and operated by state-run Szerencsejáték Zrt, who offer many varieties of lottery games, including Keno. Hungarian players can buy lottery tickets online too, and Hungary also participates in European-wide lotteries, including the Eurojackpot.

Source: DNH PR