Banning Slot Machines to Protect Its Citizens

From Bill Kearney:

Massachusetts ‘GAMING’ Future

Associated Press - October 1, 2012 - Hungary seeking slot machine ban to protect poor

The Hungarian government says it is planning to ban slot machines, which it says have led thousands of families to ruin.
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According to the bill filed Monday in Parliament, slot machines will be allowed only in Hungary's three casinos. The number of slot machines has fallen from around 25,000 to just 2,000 after last year's five-fold increase in the monthly tax on each machine, from 100,000 forints ($450) to 500,000 forints ($2,250).

State Secretary Janos Lazar also justified the ban on the grounds of national security risks related to the gambling industry, but did not provide details.

Lazar said the ban would lower tax revenues by around 30 billion forints ($135 million). The government plans to replace that by regulating and taxing Internet-based gambling activities.

Hungary's ban on slot machines bucks gambling trend in region
Posted: 10/05/2012
By Pablo Gorondi
The Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary — The government says it's trying to cure poor Hungarians of a gambling addiction. The gambling industry says that authorities are trying to seize control of a lucrative pastime.

Whatever the case, Hungary's decision to ban the ubiquitous slot machines seen in pubs, bars and parlors across the country goes against a gambling boom seen elsewhere in Eastern Europe, even as economic times get tougher.

The government announced the ban Monday morning, after an extraordinary Cabinet meeting called by Prime Minister Viktor Orban. It justified the surprise move by saying that tens of thousands of Hungarian families had been ruined by slot machines.

"Our objective is to ensure that our poorest, most disadvantaged and defenseless citizens ... be prevented from having the opportunity of spending their money on gambling activities," said State Secretary Janos Lazar.

The law, which is expected to take effect in a few days, forces slot-machine operators to immediately surrender their licenses. Slot machines will have to be removed from pubs and gambling halls and will be allowed only in Hungary's three casinos — two in Budapest, the capital, and one in Sopron, a city on the border with Austria.

The government had already been cracking down on slot-machine addiction.

Tamas Huszar used to own eight slot machines, including four in a small pub he runs in north Budapest. After the government last year raised the monthly tax on each machine five-fold, from $450 to $2,250, Huszar decided to keep just one. Now he'll have to give up that one, too.

"Not only is my income going to fall, but I will be forced to lay off employees," Huszar said.
The Hungarian move bucks gambling trends elsewhere in the region. Casinos and betting parlors have been proliferating in Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia and the Czech Republic. In Serbia, a boom in football betting has led to wagers even on games in the Finnish lower divisions.

On Tuesday, lawmakers in the Hungarian Parliament voted 238-1 in favor of the bill, with eight abstentions. Experts estimate that there are about 100,000 gambling addicts in Hungary.

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_21702552/hungarys-ban-slot-machines-bucks-gambling-trend-region