Bulgarian gambling law reform under the EC microscope

Updated online gambling provisions are included in revised gambling legislation submitted as a draft to the European Commission last month by the Bulgarian government.
The EU’s newest Member State, Bulgaria has been widely criticised and accused of discrimination in its approach to online gambling, which has included restrictions on advertising within its borders.
The country will be hosting the annual Eastern European Gaming Summit in October this year, which is expected to generate robust debate and will involve other Eastern European nations currently involved in the online gambling sector such as Estonia and Lithuania.
There are over 200 online gambling sites on the Web that offer action featuring Bulgarian language and both Lev and Euro currency. Gambling generally was legalised, taxed and regulated in 1993, with tough new restrictions and higher taxes imposed five years later, a move which did little to curtail the proliferation of land gambling establishments due to a liberal licensing regime.
The government was slow to turn online gambling to its advantage, and it was only in 2008 – prior to the country’s acceptance into the EU – that legalisation was accepted, with a tax rate based on profit of 10 percent, and state monopolised sports betting.

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