Proposal to ban gambling ads ahead of Bulgaria elections

A new bill to amend the Gambling Act has been proposed by Bulgaria’s biggest political party GERB, together with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms party (DPS). 

Targeting untargeted advertisements 

The amendments put forward by DPS’s Yordan Tsonev and Temenuzka Petkova from GERB envision to ban gambling advertisements on the TV, radio, print and online outlets, as well as all kinds of promotional placement on public buildings. 

According to the proposal, the only advertisements to be allowed will be on the land-based casino venues themselves, or on billboards but with a required distance of minimum 100 metres from schools. Sports sponsorships will still be allowed however.

The move from GERB and DPS follows a similar proposal made by the nationalist party Vazrazhdane put forward to Parliament at the start of April. Interestingly, both GERB and DPS then abstained from voting, essentially blocking Vazrazhdane’s bill. 

Important to note is that Bulgaria will hold early parliamentary elections this June. 

Slot and casino gambling

Elsewhere in the new proposition led by GERB and DPS, slots and casino gambling will be only limited to populated areas with more than 5000 inhabitants – with the exception of tourist resorts and towns within 18 miles of main road arteries.

This strongly resembles a recent move by neighbouring Romania to ban casinos and slots in retail venues located in towns with less than 15,000 registered citizens – signed into force on 10 April as an executive order issued by Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu.

If the proposals are voted in, operators looking to secure slot machine licences must also be ready to present evidence of business capital amounting to at least BGN 750,000 (£329k) – an increase from the current BGN 500,000 (£219k). 

The proposed amendments also affect the operators’ social responsibility levy, where half of the funds will be directed into the Ministry of Health for treatment of gambling addiction.  

Unlicensed online gambling 

Another important area that the proposal focuses on is the increasing number of unlicensed online gambling websites targeting Bulgarian customers. 

Arguing that this not only hurts the national treasury but also player protections, GERB and DPS want a new law that enforces a financial penalty between BGN 50,000 and BGN 200,000 on unlicensed operators and internet providers that facilitate access to these websites. 

The same penalty also carries over to payment providers that allow payments to and from unlicensed providers. Players who gamble illegally would also be penalised with a fine between BGN 500 to BGN 2000. 

As of now, Bulgaria is taking serious steps to prevent unlicensed operators from targeting the market. 

Last year saw the introduction of the Prevention and Counter Action Against Money Laundering unit, which was formed by the National Revenue Agency (NRA) – the watchdog currently responsible for regulating the Bulgarian gambling sector after the 2020 disbandment of the State Gambling Commission.

January data from the NRA showed that more than 600 illegal online gambling websites have been blocked in the three months prior to 2024. 

In March, various gambling shareholders were also hosted by NRA’s General Director, Rumen Spetsov, to discuss different strategies on combating money laundering in the sector.

Update: The bill successfully passed first reading on 25 April. Discussions will continue next Tuesday (30 April) during an emergency meeting.