Bulgaria's online gambling black list now at 172

The Bulgarian State Commission on Gambling reported Monday that it has filed blocking and blacklisting orders on a total of 172 online gambling websites over the past six months.

However, blacklisting may become unnecessary now that the government has made amendments to its rather severe taxation regime on internet gambling in an attempt to use the carrot instead of the big stick and get operators to apply for licensing.

Under the former tax laws operators complained that it would be difficult to run profitable businesses in Bulgaria, and they demonstrated their resistance by not applying for licensing in the eastern European country. That motivated lawmakers to seek an incentive through amendments to gambling legislation recently .

The Novinite news agency reports that online gambling operators will be able to secure licensing after paying a one-time charge of 250 000 BGN and a 20 percent levy on the difference between revenue and profits.

According to the State Commission on Gambling, the government coffers receive some BGN 120 million from gambling tax every year.