If Hungary’s gaming regulator gives the go-ahead, companies in the European Economic Area will be able to set up online gambling businesses there. At the moment, there is no limit on how many permissions can be given.
The inside story
The new rule makes it legal to play sports betting and online casino games online, which weren’t before. It also makes it legal to bet on horse races and play card games online, which weren’t before. People who run gambling businesses are likely to like this change in the law, but the biggest question is whether the Hungarian government will let them join this market. In particular, Hungarian law says that remote gambling is not a “liberated” form of gambling. This means that it can only be done in Hungary by the state gambling organizer company (which just launched a brand new website) or by a concession company with a contract with the Hungarian State. The Hungarian government will have complete freedom to decide how many concessions to give and when to give them. So far, no information has been made public about this problem. Credit cards can also be used to make deposits online, as long as they are linked to a payment service provider that is allowed by the rules.
Every operator who wants a license must have a minimum share capital of HUF1bn (£2.4m/€2.8m). The Hungarian State Treasury will get HUF600m (€1.7m/£1.4m) for the license fees. Even though the tax rate for operators hasn’t been set yet, they have to guarantee at least HUF250 million.
Changes are being made to the law to protect players better. People may gamble too much if the gaming industry is more competitive, so the bill requires operators to develop a plan to protect players “in line with the idea of responsible gaming and the protection of players.”
When the online betting market is opened up to private companies, there is more competition between them, leading to more gambling instead of promoting the idea of responsible gaming. Legislative language shows this:
Since players’ interests need to be protected in casinos like woo casino app , the proposal tries to open up online gambling by emphasizing players’ safety and putting in place guarantee regulations.
After the bill was sent to the European Commission, it was held until May 4. This year, the European Court of Justice decided that Hungary’s rules about online gambling were wrongly making it hard for European operators to get licenses. Unibet, a brand of Kindred Group, said that international operators couldn’t get an online license in Hungary because they couldn’t meet the country’s requirements.
Under the new rules, operators in the European Economic Area (EEA) can only offer their services to players in Hungary if they get permission from the country’s gaming regulator.
There is no limit on how many permits can be given out, and deposits can be made with credit or debit cards linked to an authorized payment provider. Before 2014, the only place in Hungary where you could bet on sports was the state-owned Szerencsejáték Zrt. This changed when the country’s gambling laws let land-based operators apply for online gaming licenses.
The goal of these new gambling rules is to keep players safer. Even though the new law acknowledges that the market is more competitive, which could lead to too much gambling, it also says that operators must make a player protection plan that follows both player protection principles.
Conclusion
According to the law, many operators are offering their services in a competitive market, which could make players bet too much instead of following the rules of responsible gambling. So, the draft will let more people bet, but it will also make sure that the players’ interests aren’t hurt.
