Hungarian National Lottery operator strikes $28.8m football deal

The Hungarian state-owned lottery and sports betting operator Szerencsejáték Zrt has agreed to pay the National Football Association HUF 6bn for marketing rights. The agreement includes further HUF 3bn for betting rights. The deal is linked to domestic football competitions during the 2026–2027 season.

In addition, Hungary’s public broadcaster MTVA has purchased the broadcasting rights for domestic football matches for HUF 6bn.

The Football Association said the combined HUF 15bn in revenues from MTVA and Szerencsejáték Zrt will be distributed among clubs following consultations with teams. The funding package will support 272 teams and 1,192 matches across Hungarian football competitions.

The agreement follows a leadership reshuffle at Szerencsejáték Zrt, with the new Government appointing Dr Marcell Olajos as Chairman and member of the Board of Directors. This decision was made by Finance Minister András Kármán.

Dr Zoltán Horváth has also joined the Board of Directors, while several existing members have stepped down as part of the changes.

The appointments took effect on 15 July 2026 and come as the Government seeks to increase transparency and strengthen oversight at the operator. Local media previously reported allegations that members of Szerencsejáték Zrt’s board had been appointed due to political connections under the previous Government.

Finance Minister Kármán said the reshuffle marked a move towards greater efficiency. 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.’’

The new Government indicated that further changes could be introduced in Hungary’s gambling sector, which has faced increased scrutiny following recent regulatory interventions and public debate over lottery operations and casino ownership structures.