The Supervisory Authority for Regulatory Affairs (SZTFH) recently issued a decree implementing minor changes to allow the amendments to the country's Gambling Law to work more fairly or efficiently.
While the process for licensing land-based casinos, and therefore their online-connected counterparts, may not be in line with EU standards, there isn't much, if anything, standing in the way of the process. way for a casino licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority to offer services there. So far, SZTFH has not authorized any foreign operators to offer sports betting and all regulated consumer traffic continues to flow through Tippmixpro.hu – operated by the former and still de facto monopoly of Szerencsejáték Zrt.
Technical Clarifications, Rates
Operators wishing to offer online sports betting there must meet certain financial requirements and demonstrate at least five years of experience offering licensed online gambling services in a state of the European Economic Area. Any operator that has offered unlicensed gaming within five years of the application date will be rejected for license consideration.
In an attempt to protect punters from harm, operators may offer early withdrawals of sports betting winnings, but the operator must warn the player about the immediate gratification of such an action, as it could contribute to gambling addiction.
The decree states: "The gaming operator is obliged to expressly draw the player's attention to the fact that the use of this feature carries a higher risk of excessive gambling and addiction and this information will appear in the text of the promotion in the same font size than text.
It continues: "The gaming operator will also make information available to the player on the gaming website that the use of that feature carries a higher risk of excessive gambling and addiction." In order to facilitate early withdrawals, punters will now be able to have segmented account balances instead of a master balance. Early withdrawals are subject to the regular terms and conditions of other withdrawals.
The bill is subject to a standstill period following its notification to the European Commission, which runs until 4 May.
The Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) ruled in 2017 that Hungary’s online gaming rules were unlawfully excluding European operators from the licensing process. This followed Kindred Group’s Unibet brand bringing the case to court, alleging that international operators were unable to meet Hungary’s conditions for online licensing.
