TLDR
- Hungary has removed concession powers from its gambling regulator, the SZTFH, under a law that took effect on October 1, 2026.
- The law also scraps the authority’s Concession Council and ends the need for its prior consent on concession deals.
- The SZTFH must hand all concession files to the minister responsible for state assets within 30 days.
- The government questioned the regulator’s independence and says it plans to abolish the authority in the future.
- The SZTFH disputed the bill’s claims and said it carried out more than 23,000 inspections between 2021 and 2025.
Hungary has removed concession powers from its gambling regulator, the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH). The new law took effect on October 1, 2026.
The law also scraps the authority’s Concession Council. The regulator’s president now has 30 days to transfer its concession files to the government.
The government submitted bill T/639 on September 8, 2026. The bill changes several laws linked to concessions.
Parliament handled the bill under an urgent procedure. Lawmakers passed it in a final vote on September 22.
The law was published in the Magyar Közlöny, Hungary’s official gazette, on September 30 as Act LIX of 2026. It ends the SZTFH’s tasks and powers tied to concessions.
Why the Government Made the Change
The SZTFH was set up in 2021 under the previous government. Its work covers gambling, the tobacco market, mining, the Hungarian Chamber of Judicial Officers and the register of liquidators. It also checks activities covered by concession contracts.
The government questioned the authority’s independence. It noted that the regulator was supposed to report only to Parliament.
“The independence of the SZTFH is called into question by the fact that a former administrative state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office was appointed to head it, for nine years,” the government stated.
The government also said it plans to abolish the authority completely in the future. Its duties would be split among other state bodies.
SZTFH Pushes Back
The SZTFH responded on the day of the vote. It published a corrective notice disputing what it called serious inaccuracies in the bill’s justification and the parliamentary debate.
The authority said concession contracts are signed by a minister chosen by the government of the day. Since October 1, 2021, its role was to give prior consent before a contract was signed, changed or ended.
The SZTFH also shared its inspection record. It said it carried out more than 23,000 concession-related inspections between 2021 and 2025. These covered casinos, online casinos, national tobacco shops and mining.
Under the new law, the SZTFH’s prior consent is no longer needed for concession procedures. This includes procedures that were already underway when the law took effect.
The change covers tenders and invitations to submit offers. It also covers the signing, changing or ending of concession contracts.
Within 30 days of the law taking effect, the SZTFH’s president must hand over the authority’s concession files. They go to the minister responsible for state assets.
The files include documents on tenders, contracts and inspections. The government can now decide by decree which minister or central body will run concession tenders and handle contracts.
For now, there are no active talks about abolishing the SZTFH, according to European Gaming. The 30-day deadline for the file transfer runs until the end of October.
