Hungary started blocking affiliate websites

[vmlinuz]

Hungarian regulator, the SZTFH started blocking affiliate websites this month. They are referring to a law that makes (in their oppinion) gambling affiliates illegal advertisers. So far they have added over 20 affiliate sites (some of them are GPWA members) to the blocklist and require ISPs to enforce the block in a couple of days after publishing new entries.

Internet censorship is not new in Hungary, they started the first blocking wave that only included operators in 2014. This prompted a response from established operators that resulted in lawsuits against Hungary and ended up with operators winning these legal procedures. After 2017 the blocking of all EU based operators was lifted as a result of the CJEU decision (https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/...cp170068en.pdf).

Last year the gaming market was partially opened (at least in theory), breaking up the state's monopoly on sports betting and (again, in theory) allowing sports betting operators access to the market in Hungary. But this law is made in such a way, that no operator (or entity related to that operator) that offered gambling without a license in any EEA country in the past 5 years can apply for a license in Hungary. This essentially bans any reputable brand from applying for a license in Hungary. Casinos are still essentially a monopoly.

In September 2023 they restarted the blocking of gaming operators and this resulted in bet365's exit in November 2023.

The SZTFH declared at the and of 2023 that there are over 30 ongoing legal actions against the regulator, and no foreign operator applied for a license.

This hasn't received much coverage in any iGaming media.

[The Buzz]

From PGRI:

The Hungarian Supervisory Authority for Regulatory Affairs (SZTFH) has announced that it has blocked a number of gambling sites and affiliates that were operating without a local licence. The regulator said that 450 domains had been blocked for offering online casino, sport betting and cryptocurrency gambling.


The sites include several big names, such as Unibet, BetOnline, Intertops, PokerStars, Parimatch, Playzilla and Rabona. Unlicensed operators have been involved in legal arguments with the Hungarian authorities. The SZTFH began blocking unlicensed sites in 2014, and several operators launched lawsuits arguing that Hungary’s stance on gambling contravenes European law.

Read more here: https://www.publicgaming.com/news-ca...and-affiliates

[ocreditor]

Bad news for affiliates and operators... Hungary is a good geo..