Hungary’s Szerencsejáték Zrt Overhauls Board as TISZA Government Tightens Oversight
2026-07-15
Hungary's state gambling operator Szerencsejáték Zrt has appointed Dr Marcell Olajos as chairman and replaced several board members, part of a transparency drive by the new TISZA government that also includes a review of the operator's monopoly and past revenue allocations.
Hungary’s state-owned gambling monopoly Szerencsejáték Zrt has undergone a sweeping leadership reshuffle, with Dr Marcell Olajos appointed as chairman by Finance Minister András Kármán. The changes, effective 15 July 2026, follow the April parliamentary election that brought Péter Magyar’s TISZA party to power, ending 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz government.
Leadership Changes
Alongside Olajos, Dr Zoltán Horváth has joined the board. Four existing board members — Dr Krisztina Rédey, Dr Szabolcs Imre Ágostházy, Dr Gábor Bordás and Zsófia Illés-Puka — were removed, while Dr Marianna Gabriella Poltné Palásthy resigned. Kármán stated that the reshuffle aims to deliver on TISZA’s pledge to eliminate “political influence and unauthorised advantage” and introduce “corruption-free and transparent management.” He wrote on social media: “At Szerencsejáték Zrt., political influence and undue advantage are a thing of the past; in the future, operations must be transparent, clean, legal and efficient.”
Poltné Palásthy, wife of former Prosecutor General Péter Polt, criticised the move as a “politically motivated purge,” accusing TISZA of replicating practices it had condemned under Fidesz. The changes form part of a broader review of state-owned enterprises by the new administration.
Broader Sector Review
The government has announced a full review of Szerencsejáték Zrt’s monopoly status, governance and the allocation of gambling revenues during the Fidesz era, with particular scrutiny on sponsorships and public funding. Kármán previously accused the operator of diverting revenues toward “propaganda purposes” instead of transferring profits to the state treasury.
Szerencsejáték Zrt retains exclusive rights to the national lottery and still dominates sports betting in Hungary, despite the country opening its online sports betting market to European Economic Area operators in 2023. The outcome of the review could reshape Hungary’s gambling landscape.
Related Developments
In a separate but notable move, billionaire István Garancsi became the majority owner of Sopron Casino after the Hungarian Competition Authority approved his company’s transition from minority to majority shareholder. Garancsi now controls seven Hungarian casinos — five in Budapest, one in Debrecen and the Sopron venue — leaving only the Miskolc, Győr and Pécs casinos outside his portfolio.