Bulgaria rejects opposition gambling ad blanket ban and tax hike proposals

Bulgaria’s government has declined opposition demands to significantly increase gambling taxes, alongside stricter advertising restrictions, despite admitting the country only has a channelisation rate of approximately 60%.

A parliamentary debate over the issue of growing illegal gambling demand took place earlier this week, and included proposed amendments to the current gambling regulation. 

Members of parliament approved minor additional taxation focused on a specific niche but rejected broader measures seeking the near-doubling of operator fees alongside an advertising ban.

At present online gambling tax in Bulgaria is levied at 25% of GGR, alongside a 10% corporate tax. This was increased earlier this year from the previous rate of 20%.

Government cautions against rapid tax increases

Deputy Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova informed the budget committee that increasing tax could inadvertently push gamblers further towards unregulated and illegal platforms.

She emphasised that, while increasing the gambling tax might appear beneficial, the measure risked transferring players from the legal market to the shadow economy, unless the grey market is first curtailed.

“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,” Petkova stated.

She further revealed that the Finance Ministry was preparing a comprehensive revision of Bulgaria’s gambling legislation.

Opposition wants change

Opposition parties “We Continue the Change” and “Democratic Bulgaria” criticised the government for what they perceived as permissive attitudes towards gambling promotion and insufficient action against illegal operators.

Venko Sabutev, a prominent opposition MP advocating for stricter controls, expressed frustration at the refusal to amend the Gambling Act through transitional provisions in the parliamentary process.

“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?” he demanded during committee discussions. “Enough with this hypocrisy.”

The current ad ban

On 30 April 2024, the Bulgarian parliament unanimously passed amendments outlawing gambling advertising on television, radio, print media and digital platforms, with narrowly defined exceptions for the state-owned Bulgarian Sports Totalisator.

Under the new measures billboard advertising was still permitted, but only if it was at least 300 metres away from schools, universities, playgrounds and other protected areas, with at least 10% of and given advertising space dedicated to a warning about the dangers of gambling.

Advertising on buildings offering gambling services was also strictly controlled, with no more than 50 square metres or 20% of the whole facade allowed to display the advert.  

According to Mark Chakravarti, investments director at local operator Sportingwin, the advertising ban led to a steep decline in revenue for Bulgaria-facing operators.  

“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,” he told iGB in October 2024. “I think it’s been very similar in the Bulgarian market.”