Hungary Considers Closing SZTFH After Casino Concession Controversy

The Hungarian government is weighing whether to abolish the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH), the body that oversees gambling, tobacco, and mining. For high-risk operators, the key point is simple: a regulator that also handles licensing and enforcement is now under review after a politically sensitive casino concession decision.

1. According to an article published in the Hungarian Gazette, the government has asked justice minister Márta Görög to prepare a report on whether SZTFH can be closed and its responsibilities moved to other government bodies. She has until September 30 to submit the report.
2. The review follows revelations that SZTFH awarded CAI Hungary Kft., a company linked to businessman István Garancsi, a 35-year casino concession running until 2061 to operate the Sopron casino. The government’s complaint is that the concession was granted without a public tender.
3. The concession extension was granted just weeks after the government said it would review all casino concessions in Hungary. Several of those concessions had been awarded shortly before elections by the previous administration led by former Hungarian president Viktor Orbán.
4. SZTFH was established in October 2021 and employs more than 400 people. Its current president, László Nagy, was appointed by then-President Tamás Sulyok in 2024 for a nine-year term.
5. In its response, SZTFH said it is an independent regulatory body created by the Hungarian Parliament under Act XXXII of 2021 on the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities, and that it is accountable solely to Parliament. It also pointed to its enforcement record against illegal online gambling operators and said it had carried out tens of thousands of inspections of tobacco retailers, along with regulatory actions and blocks on illegal online tobacco shops.

For PSPs and acquiring teams, the practical question is not whether this sounds tidy on paper. It is whether Hungary is preparing to change the institution that sits over licensing, enforcement, and sector-specific oversight in gambling and adjacent high-risk verticals.