Hungarian Forint Casinos
Like many Eastern European currencies, the Hungarian forint is small in scale and seldom seen outside its homeland. Its name comes from the city of Florence, Italy. The forint has a history that stretches back to the 1300s when gold-based coins were issued in Hungary called florentinus (today, forint). The current currency made its debut in 1946 when it replaced the pengõ.
Like other currencies, the lower denominations (fillér) have been removed from circulation since the late 90s. As Hungary’s online gambling sector is severely handicapped, with excessive regulation and many restrictions, the forint is the only currency you can legally use to bet on gambling games in the country. Offshore casinos permit euro gameplay, but that would be against Hungary’s gambling laws.
Casino List with HUF Currency
About the Hungarian Forint in Gambling
As touched on, the Hungarian forint is the only currency you can use to play at an online casino licensed by the Hungarian authorities. If you opt to play at those casinos that are licensed elsewhere, then the euro is arguably the better option for you, as it is widely accepted. Not all the major international casinos accept HUF as a currency, and this is worth considering.
Hungary is the only country to use the Hungarian forint, although other countries have similar-sounding currencies. To date, the euro is worth around 359 Ft. The increase has been growing since Hungary joined the European Union, rising from 275 Ft to today’s rate in under two decades.
Online Gambling in Hungary
Online gambling is legal in Hungary, albeit under many restrictions and hefty regulations. The Gambling Act of 1991 ensured that only Hungarian operators (back then, land-based businesses) were permitted to offer their services to players in Hungary. Despite immense and regular pressure from the European Union to permit foreign (EU-based) operators to enter the market, little has changed, bar a few licenses being granted.
Hungary did legalise online poker (from offshore casinos), but the license awarded to the state monopoly, Szerencsejáték Zrt, remains in place. This license was set to expire in 2020, and there was talk of Hungary opening its market to offshore operators, but this has not yet happened and is now overdue.
Popular HUF Deposit Methods and Withdrawal Options
Hungary may be quite reserved and protectionist when it comes to online casinos operating in their country, but they are a lot more open to international payment methods. As a result, many are known to appear at HUF online casinos. Amongst the payment providers extensively used by players to wager at Hungarian forint casinos are…
- E-wallets (PayPal is accepted at monopoly sites, with Skrill, Neteller and EcoPayz accepted elsewhere)
- Prepaid cards (such as Paysafecard and Neosurf are options)
- Credit, debit, and bank transfers (VISA, Maestro, Trustly, and MasterCard can be used at all sites, with Hungarian banks only permitting transfers to Hungarian licensed casinos)
- Cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin)
- Other options available include Klarna, Zimpler, WireCard, and pay-by-phone options
