Bulgaria Rejects Calls for Blanket Gambling Ad Ban

Bulgaria’s Deputy Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova has dismissed opposition proposals to tighten gambling rules, rejecting both a wider advertising ban and higher taxes.

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During a commission meeting on the 2026 budget, she said such measures cannot be adopted in isolation and warned they could push more players into the black market. “The proposal to increase the tax sounds very good at first glance, but the real effect of the measure will be the transfer of players from the legal to the illegal market,” Petkova explained.

The push for reform came from two former coalition partners, Democratic Bulgaria and We Continue the Change. Though the parties split after April’s elections, both have continued to press for stricter gambling controls. 

We Continue the Change has campaigned for an almost total ban on gambling ads in crowded urban areas, while Democratic Bulgaria has repeatedly called for raising the gross gaming revenue tax from 20% to 30% and increasing licensing fees.

Petkova countered that Bulgaria’s current 20% tax rate is in line with European standards, noting that most countries apply rates between 20% and 25%. She stressed that “The share of the gray sector in gambling is currently about 40%. The 20% tax is a European balanced standard. Any increase in gambling taxation leads to an increase in the gray sector.”

“We are starting work on a comprehensive review of the Gambling Act”

Work is underway on a full overhaul of Bulgaria’s Gambling Act, with the Finance Ministry saying years of patchwork changes have left the law difficult to manage. Petkova explained that amendments often get inserted between readings of unrelated legislation, creating errors that take years to fix. 

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“We are starting work on a comprehensive review of the Gambling Act. The reason is that amendments are regularly made to it between the first and second readings of other laws, and then years are needed to correct the consequences of the inaccuracies,” she said.

The gambling industry has already started seeing changes. The 2026 budget saw a licensing framework for gambling affiliates introduced. The plan sets a fixed €6,000 annual fee alongside a 10% tax on commissions from promotional activity, with officials estimating the measure could raise €100 million each year.

This review follows earlier reforms passed in 2024, when lawmakers banned gambling advertising across broadcast, print, and digital platforms, while leaving limited space for the state‑owned Sports Totalisator.

Outdoor billboards remain allowed but must be placed at least 300 metres from schools, playgrounds, and universities. Gambling venues themselves also face restrictions, with advertising capped at 50 square metres or 20 percent of a building’s facade.

The Ministry says the new review aims to bring all these scattered rules together into a single framework, reducing inconsistencies and preventing unintended growth of the gray market.

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Source: SBC News