Hungary’s government has ordered a review that could end with the country’s gambling regulator dissolved and its duties transferred to bodies under direct government control.
Government Resolution 1277/2026. (VIII. 31.), published in issue 121 of Magyar Közlöny on 31 August 2026, gives Justice Minister Márta Görög until 30 September to report on how the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH) could be wound up and its functions reassigned. Prime Minister Péter Magyar signed the document.
What the resolution requires
The resolution states that a review of the SZTFH’s operation and of the related statutory framework is necessary, having regard to the regulatory solutions by which the authority’s termination, or the performance of its tasks by bodies directed by the government, could be carried out.
It does not close the authority. The government has committed only to examining the option. Görög must assess whether those aims are achievable and submit her report to the government by 30 September 2026.
The Sopron concession
The resolution gives no reason for the review. It follows a concession decision that drew scrutiny in July.
The SZTFH renewed the Sopron casino concession held by CAI Hungary Kft, a company linked to businessman István Garancsi, for a further 35 years to 2061 without a public tender. Hungarian law allows that where the holder qualifies as a reliable gambling organiser and applies through a simple offer procedure.
The renewal appeared in the authority’s licence register around 20 July and was first reported by mfor.hu. It came weeks after the government said it would review casino concessions issued in the final months of the previous administration.
What the SZTFH oversees
The SZTFH licenses and supervises gambling in Hungary, including online casino and sports betting. It maintains the player-protection register and runs the blocking regime used against unlicensed sites. In July 2025 it reported that more than 2,000 blocking orders issued in 2024 and 2025 had pushed traffic towards licensed operators.
Gambling is one part of a wider remit. The authority also supervises tobacco retail, mining and geology, insolvency practitioners and court bailiffs, cybersecurity certification and the domestic ESG framework. If it is dissolved, those functions would move to bodies under direct government control.
The authority’s response
The SZTFH published a statement on 1 September defending its record and its legal standing. The authority said, in a response translated from Hungarian:
“The SZTFH is an independent regulatory body created by parliament under Act XXXII of 2021 on the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities, which in respect of its activities is subordinate only to legislation, and which is accountable for its operations to parliament alone.”
The authority, which has operated since 1 October 2021, said it had squeezed illegal online gambling organisers out of the Hungarian market and had strengthened protection for minors in the tobacco market through tens of thousands of retail inspections. It put compliance among the businesses covered by its cybersecurity remit at around 90%.
It also argued that European Union law requires certain state tasks to be carried out by an administrative body independent of central government, and said its more than 400 staff have made it a recognised participant in international regulatory cooperation. The sectors it supervises generate more than 1,000 billion forints in annual state tax revenue and support more than 50,000 direct jobs, according to the authority.
On the review itself, the SZTFH said:
“Having set out the above, and with full regard for the applicable legal environment, the Regulated Activities Supervisory Authority will of course cooperate in every way with the minister designated in the government resolution in order to effectively complete the legal review.”
What operators face next
Dissolving the SZTFH would require parliament to amend or repeal Act XXXII of 2021, so the September report is a first step and not a decision. The report goes to the government, which then decides whether to put legislation to parliament.
For licensed operators in Hungary, the open questions are which body would hold their licences, who would run the blocking regime that has been the main tool against unlicensed sites, and whether the independence argument the authority has made carries weight in Brussels. Görög has until 30 September to answer the first of them.
Source: Hungarian Government
