A ban on slot machines in pubs in Hungary, introduced last October, has boosted revenue and visitor numbers in the country’s casinos, where the machines are allowed.
Revenue in the casinos owned by state lottery company, Szerencsejáték, rose to HUF2.7bn in 2012 from close to HUF2bn in 2011. Daily visitor numbers climbed to 400 from 250.
Szerencsejáték owns a controlling stake in the Tropicana and a minority stake in Casino Sopron. Its business partner in the latter is Casinos Austria. The number of slot machines at the Tropicana rose from 44 to 86 after the ban was introduced.
There are 60 slot machines at the casino in Sopron. Hungary's only other casino, Las Vegas Casino, owned by the film producer Andy Vajna, has 65 slot machines. Most of the companies negatively affected by the slot machine ban have wound up or have moved their business to other countries.
