Uncertainty remains over when server-based gaming machines will be in operation in Hungary, it has been claimed.
As part of a new Gaming Act, which came into force on January 1, the technical requirements for gaming machines was changed. These include a requirement for slot machines to be linked to a central server.
Traditional machines were to be permitted until December 31, 2012, after which only server-based machines were to be allowed. However, according to Miklos Dubai, managing director of Novoparts in Hungary, the “very complicated technical rules and expectations” of the law mean none of the machines are in operation.
“The worst part is that at the moment nobody knows how long it will take to get legal permissions for server and terminal operations,” he told InterGame. “The basic idea should have been to make clear, transparent taxation which would help each party’s operations but now we are in a mess and the government doesn’t want to hear advice in order to speed up the process and make tax income as soon as possible.”
Hungary’s gaming industry has been in decline for a number of years due, in large part, to huge tax hikes from the government and a smoking ban in restaurants and bars. Thousands of gaming halls have closed in recent years.
