New Bill Introduces Ban on Gambling Ads in Bulgaria

Article by : Milena Petrovska May 2, 2024

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Bulgaria’s Movement for Rights and Freedoms and GERB-UDF have submitted a new bill that bans all forms of gambling ads in the country. The bill, introduced by Yordan Tsonev and Temenuzka Petkova, states that all forms of advertising on television, radio, print media, and online platforms should be illegal.

The law, which was unanimously passed on 30 April, allows the first form of legal gambling ads to be billboards, but they have to be at least 100 meters away from schools. Ads on gambling halls and casino buildings will also get the green light.

This development follows Bulgaria’s efforts to regulate the industry more effectively.

The bill was proposed on 26 April and voted unanimously by all 198 members of the parliament on their last working day30 April. This legislation is expected to come into force in several weeks.

The Bill Will Prohibit Gambling in Less Populated Areas

According to the bill, additional restrictions will also apply to gambling itself. Slots and casino gambling machines would be legal in areas with at least 5,000 residents. The only exceptions would be towns and resorts within 18 miles of main roads.

In mid-April, Romania introduced a similar ban. The Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) 82/2023 had some amendments which stated that slot machine facilities cannot operate in areas with a population of less than 15,000.

Furthermore, the bill states that companies that want to apply for slot licenses would have to show more capital. The new capital requirements will go from BGN 500,000 (about 254,545 EUR) to BGN 750,000 (about 381,818 EUR). The distribution of socially responsible funds would also change.

Half of the funds will likely go towards the Ministry of Health, which will direct the money towards programs related to gambling addiction treatment.

Amendments in Bulgaria’s Gambling Law Have Been a Hot Topic Recently

The new bill isn’t the first effort to make changes in Bulgaria’s Gambling Law. At the end of 2023, Kostadin Kostadinov, a member of the nationalist party Vazrazhdane, drafted a proposal that was set to overhaul rules regarding gambling ads.

Several additional changes were introduced as well, one of which was related to the self-exclusion register. According to Vazrazhdane, people who sign up should have a minimum self-exclusion period of two years.

The party considered this move logical, especially after the National Revenue Agency reported that 36,000 Bulgarians have signed up in the self-exclusion register since 2022. Vazrazhdane MP Dimo Drenchev also blasted the media for having a conflict of interest because up to 50% of their income came from gambling advertisements.

However, after a two-hour final debate, the proposed legislation fell through.

Focus on Fighting Unlicensed Gambling As Well

The new bill doesn’t propose self-exclusion, but it introduces several tools to tackle unlicensed gambling. GERB and DPS propose new fines for unlicensed operators and the online providers that supply them with gambling products.

According to the details, these fines will range from BGN 50,000 (about 25,454 EUR) to BGN200,000 (about 101,856). Players who access these sites will pay fines between BGN500 (about 254 EUR) and BGN2,000 (about 1,018 EUR).

Back in January, the NRA released a report stating that over 600 illegal gambling websites had been blocked in the previous three months alone. Rumen Spetsov, NRA’s general director, also hosted gambling shareholders in March, where he discussed strategies to combat money laundering.

This partnership between GERB and DPS is the latest move in the fight against these types of crimes. In 2023, the NRA also introduced the Prevention and Counter Action Against Money Laundering Unit to help combat the risk of laundering money in the country.