Hungary's government has ordered an investigation into how to dissolve the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH), the regulator overseeing gambling, tobacco, mining, and other concessions. Justice Minister Márta Görög must submit findings by September 30.
The move follows the SZTFH's July extension of Sopron casino's operating license to 2061 without a public tender. The original ten-year license expired in January, and the authority extended it by six months before granting the 35-year renewal under a provision allowing contracts with established operators without competitive bidding.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated on Wednesday that the authority "served private interests, not public interests" and would be abolished with its functions redistributed to government-controlled bodies. The government plans to strip the SZTFH of its veto rights over concession contracts and abolish the associated Concession Council.
Governance Concerns
The government cited several issues with the authority's structure. The previous administration created it in 2021 and consolidated supervision of unrelated sectors—gambling, tobacco, mining, bailiffs, and liquidators—all of which drew criticism for political involvement. The authority's leadership raises independence questions: its first president, Marcell Biró, was a former administrative state secretary who left in 2024 to become a national security adviser. The current president, László Nagy, was also appointed for a nine-year term without open competition.
A concurrent review of casino and tobacco concessions is underway, with a final decision expected within two weeks, Magyar said.
Regulatory Scope
The SZTFH supervises sectors directly employing over 50,000 people and generating more than 1,000 billion forints (approximately $3.16 billion) annually in state tax and contribution revenue. Until recently, the authority also regulated cryptocurrency conversions, requiring licensed provider validation for crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto transactions—a regime without equivalent elsewhere in the European Union.
In a statement, the SZTFH described itself as an autonomous regulatory body answerable only to Parliament and said it would cooperate fully with the minister's investigation, citing EU law requirements for certain state functions to be exercised by independent bodies.
