🇹🇷 Turkey intensifies crackdown on illegal gambling: MASAK reviews 13.8 million user data records
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan instructed MASAK to strengthen the monitoring of transactions and data linked to illegal betting operators. According to the article, the financial intelligence unit is analyzing 13.8 million user data records connected to illegal betting databases and payment systems, while more than 3 million Turkish IDs have already been linked to gambling transactions. As part of the new phase of the campaign, authorities arrested 108 people across 35 provinces and are also reviewing more than 14,000 deposit accounts and 52,000 withdrawal accounts that may have been used for offshore betting payments. Read more
🇭🇺 Hungary may revise lottery-sector regulation and state oversight of Szerencsejáték Zrt.
Hungary’s new government is considering reforms in public media, cultural funding, and gambling oversight. Parliamentary hearings covered tax changes, a review of state spending, and stronger control over Szerencsejáték Zrt., the state-owned lottery operator. New Finance Minister András Kármán stated plans to gradually phase out sector-specific special taxes and increase transparency in state-owned enterprises, while Szerencsejáték Zrt. came under separate scrutiny following public debate around four jackpots being won in one week. Read more
🇷🇴 Romania to continue tightening gambling regulation amid political instability
Following the resignation of Ilie Bolojan’s government on May 5, 2026, Romania’s gambling sector has come under additional political pressure. Parliament is already reviewing reforms to the 2009 gambling law, with key measures including raising the minimum gambling age from 18 to 21, strengthening consumer protection, and expanding municipal powers. Under GEO 7/2026, cities gained the right to restrict or fully ban betting shops and slot-machine halls — a measure already used by more than nine cities, including Buzău and Focșani. Amid criticism of ONJN and issues with nearly € 1 billion in unpaid tax obligations, the market is likely to face higher taxes, stronger oversight, advertising restrictions, and an expanded self-exclusion system. Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan instructed MASAK to strengthen the monitoring of transactions and data linked to illegal betting operators. According to the article, the financial intelligence unit is analyzing 13.8 million user data records connected to illegal betting databases and payment systems, while more than 3 million Turkish IDs have already been linked to gambling transactions. As part of the new phase of the campaign, authorities arrested 108 people across 35 provinces and are also reviewing more than 14,000 deposit accounts and 52,000 withdrawal accounts that may have been used for offshore betting payments. Read more
🇭🇺 Hungary may revise lottery-sector regulation and state oversight of Szerencsejáték Zrt.
Hungary’s new government is considering reforms in public media, cultural funding, and gambling oversight. Parliamentary hearings covered tax changes, a review of state spending, and stronger control over Szerencsejáték Zrt., the state-owned lottery operator. New Finance Minister András Kármán stated plans to gradually phase out sector-specific special taxes and increase transparency in state-owned enterprises, while Szerencsejáték Zrt. came under separate scrutiny following public debate around four jackpots being won in one week. Read more
🇷🇴 Romania to continue tightening gambling regulation amid political instability
Following the resignation of Ilie Bolojan’s government on May 5, 2026, Romania’s gambling sector has come under additional political pressure. Parliament is already reviewing reforms to the 2009 gambling law, with key measures including raising the minimum gambling age from 18 to 21, strengthening consumer protection, and expanding municipal powers. Under GEO 7/2026, cities gained the right to restrict or fully ban betting shops and slot-machine halls — a measure already used by more than nine cities, including Buzău and Focșani. Amid criticism of ONJN and issues with nearly € 1 billion in unpaid tax obligations, the market is likely to face higher taxes, stronger oversight, advertising restrictions, and an expanded self-exclusion system. Read more