The government of Bulgaria has dismissed opposition calls for significant increases in gambling taxes and stricter advertising restrictions. This decision comes even as officials acknowledged the country's channelisation rate is only around 60%.
Earlier this week, a parliamentary debate took place focusing on the rising demand for illegal gambling and included discussions on amending existing gambling regulations.
Lawmakers approved only minor tax hikes targeting a specific niche, while they rejected broader initiatives that proposed nearly doubling operator fees and implementing a blanket ban on gambling advertisements.
Currently, Bulgaria imposes a 25% tax on online gambling gross gaming revenue (GGR), along with a 10% corporate tax, which was recently raised from a prior rate of 20% earlier this year.
The Deputy Finance Minister, Lyudmila Petkova, cautioned that increasing taxes too quickly could unintentionally drive gamblers toward unregulated and illegal options. "Yes, the proposal to increase [taxes] sounds very well, but any increase before taking measures to limit the grey sector means shifting players from the legal to the illegal market," she stated. She revealed that the Finance Ministry is working on an extensive overhaul of Bulgaria’s gambling legislation.
Opposition parties, including "We Continue the Change" and "Democratic Bulgaria," criticized the government for what they see as a lenient stance on gambling advertising and inadequate actions against illegal gambling operators. Opposition MP Venko Sabutev expressed his frustration regarding the government’s unwillingness to amend the Gambling Act, asking during discussions, "How could you change the Labour Code through transitional and final provisions, but not be able to change the Gambling Act and stop gambling advertising through the same mechanism? Enough with this hypocrisy."
On April 30, 2024, the Bulgarian parliament unanimously passed new amendments that banned gambling ads across television, radio, print media, and digital platforms, with some narrowly defined exceptions for the state-owned Bulgarian Sports Totalisator. Although billboard advertising remains, it is restricted to a minimum distance of 300 meters from schools and other protected areas, requiring that at least 10% of such advertising space warns about the dangers of gambling.
Regulations also limit advertising on buildings that offer gambling services to no more than 50 square meters or 20% of the entire facade. Mark Chakravarti, investments director at the local operator Sportingwin, noted that these advertising restrictions have significantly impacted revenue for operators targeting the Bulgarian market. He reported, "Global research shows that when they have these bans put in place, especially limiting TV commercials, there is a drop of 20% revenue in the next two months. I think it’s been very similar in the Bulgarian market."
