Hungary Extends Casino Licenses for 35 Years
It will be very soon when the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will contest an election and his opposition have united to throw him out of power and great efforts have been done by them. So before the looming threat over his tenure, he made a decision to please his allies as he extends casino licenses for 35 years.
This came as a surprise because their current casino licenses were expiring in 2024 and making the premature extension is a thing that clearly indicates a notice or a favor. By this new extension for 5 casinos, the year will be 2056 when their renewed licenses expire.
The gambling industry is not a multi-billion one in Hungry, in fact, only 12 casinos are currently operational in the country. It has been almost 3 decades since gambling became legal in Hungry. The largest casino in the country would not even be the equivalent of a mid-tier casino in the USA.
LVC Diamond is the only gaming firm in the country that has a gaming license and a lot of say in the gaming laws of the country since the inception of Hungry. LVC has 5 casinos in the capital city, Budapest and their monopoly can be seen in many things plus they are friends with highly influential figures in the government of Hungary.
Construction magnate Istvan Garancsi owns LVC, as does Alexandra Szentkiralyi’s husband, Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky, AKA Kofi Anna, a close relative of Prime Minister Orban.
Orban is not a clean figure and has played a major role in Hungary’s image as one of the most corrupt nations in the European Union.
The news of Hungary extending the casino licenses for these 5 casinos is not a surprise and maybe the new government that will be formed, if Orban loses next year’s general election or is thrown away; will reverse this baffling decision of his.