The recent decision by the European Commission along with the Unibet vs Hungary controversy has highlighted the need of a new, more specialized iGaming authority in the central European country. The EU Commission has declared that member-states can regulate gambling as they please within their territories, a view that has received strong criticism by advocates of fair gaming and healthy business competition. The Hungarian government from their part announced that a new regulatory authority is deemed necessary in order to modernize and make iGaming control more efficient.
This decision is surely influenced by the recent ruling of the EU Commission that favored Unibet over Hungary, when the Kindred brand had sued the Magyar government over allegations of a EU law breach. Dóra Petrányi, of the multinational law firm CMS, noted: “As regards pending litigations, the newly established Authority will take over the place of the Administration [the old regulator] and now it is up to the competent courts how they interpret the statements of the ECJ.”