Bulgaria Takes Aim At Banning All Gambling Advertising

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The Bulgarian government is bringing in new legislation, with a bill presented on the 24th of April 2024 that targets nearly all forms of gambling advertisements. The bill was proposed by the GERB-UDF coalition and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, orchestrated by Temenuzka Petkova and Yordan Tsonev.

Under this proposed legislation, advertising for gambling will be severely limited. The bill seeks changes to the existing Law on Gambling to prohibit gambling advertisements on various platforms, including:

Moreover, the bill also aims to ban the display of such advertisements on buildings.

If the legislation is passed, gambling advertisements would be permitted only under specific conditions. Advertisements could be displayed on billboards situated more than 100 meters away from educational institutions. Additionally, they could be visible on gaming and casino establishments.

Aside from the comprehensive advertising ban, Petkova and Tsonev also propose measures to combat illegal gambling activities. These include blocking access to illegal gambling platforms and halting payments directed to these sites.

Penalties for non-compliance with this aspect of the law would be substantial, with fines ranging between BGN50,000 (£21,900/€25,564/$27,419) to BGN200,000 for sites that facilitate illegal gambling. The same penalties would apply to companies that process payments for such illegal operations.

Meanwhile, individuals engaging in unlawful gambling would face fines between BGN500 and BGN2,000.

The bill also includes provisions that regulate where slot machines and casino gambling can occur. If passed, these forms of gambling would be permitted only in areas with more than 5,000 inhabitants. Exceptions would be made for national resorts and areas that are within 30hm of major transportation networks like roads, railways, and river crossings.

These restrictions are somewhat reminiscent of the measures recently implemented by the Romanian parliament, which approved Government Emergency Ordinance 82/2023, effectively banning slot machines in areas with fewer than 15,000 residents.

The proposed legislation also seeks to increase the required capital for companies applying for slot machine licenses. The new capital requirement would range between BGN500,000 to BGN750,000.

The bill also proposes changes to how socially responsible funds are disseminated. Half of the amount that operators are required to donate would be allocated to the Ministry of Health, specifically for gambling addiction treatment programs.

This proposed bill represents a significant shift in the Bulgarian government’s approach to gambling regulation. In 2020, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) took over responsibility for monitoring gambling advertising after the State Gambling Commission was abolished.

The NRA also established a new money laundering unit to enforce stringent anti-money laundering requirements, such as customer verification and transaction monitoring. This move was in response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force, a global money laundering watchdog.