Bulgaria moves to wipe out gambling ads

• Bulgaria’s cabinet approves a draft gambling ad ban on 11 November.
• Affiliate activity would end months after licensing began.
• Online operators face a €100,000 monthly minimum on their state fee.

Bulgaria’s Council of Ministers has approved draft amendments to the Gambling Act that would remove gambling brands from almost every advertising channel and end the activity of affiliates.

The 11 November decision moves the draft to Parliament, four months after lawmakers threw out a similar push.

Logos off the billboards

The ban would cover gambling products, licensed operators and their associated brands, including logos and distinctive signs. Television, radio, print, online platforms and outdoor advertising all fall within its scope.

The government says the current restrictions have not gone far enough. It wants to curb gambling-related harm, particularly among children and vulnerable groups.

A narrow set of exceptions survives. Operators could keep limited brand presence in sponsorships of sports clubs, federations, associations and organisations. Support for culture, healthcare and education would also stay permitted.

Even those deals come with conditions. Restrictions would apply to television and online coverage of sponsored events, Novinite reported. The information players need to take part would remain on operator websites and inside licensed venues.

Affiliates written out

The biggest blow falls on affiliates. The draft proposes that the activity of affiliate operators be suspended, which would close the third-party route to Bulgarian players. Gaming.net reports that the licensing itself would be discontinued along with the promotional work.

The government presents this as a matter of consistency. A full ad ban, it argues, must also apply to the businesses that promote gambling, according to Sofia Globe.

The timing is awkward. Bulgaria only introduced affiliate licence rules on 1 August, charging performance-based affiliates a €6,000 annual fee plus 10% on commissions. Affiliates that took out licences this summer could lose the right to operate before the regime reaches its first anniversary.

Radev’s Las Vegas problem

Prime Minister Rumen Radev first presented the package at a cabinet meeting on 23 September. A public consultation ran until 23 October before ministers signed off the text.

Radev built his case on how visible gambling has become in everyday life.

Rumen Radev, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, told ministers in September:

“[O]ur towns and villages have come to look like Las Vegas.”

His ruling Progressive Bulgaria party is not acting alone. Opposition parties We Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria pushed for a full gambling ad ban through the summer. They also called for tougher penalties and a ban on gambling with cryptocurrencies.

Round two in Parliament

This is the second attempt in a matter of months. In July, Parliament rejected opposition amendments that paired a blanket ad ban with sharply higher operator fees.

The Finance Ministry argued that tax rises could push players towards the grey market.

Lyudmila Petkova, Deputy Finance Minister, told a budget committee in July, according to SBC News:

“The share of the gray sector in gambling is currently about 40%.”

Instead, the ministry promised a full Gambling Act review. This week’s government-backed draft is the result.

Bulgaria has restricted gambling marketing before. In 2024, lawmakers banned gambling ads on TV, radio, print and online media. Critics say brands kept finding loopholes, including sponsor visibility during World Cup broadcasts on national television.

The €100,000 question

The ad ban is part of a wider fiscal overhaul. Online betting operators would pay a two-component state fee whose variable part has a floor of €100,000 a month. Gaming.net puts the one-off online licence fee at €400,000.

That comes on top of an online GGR tax that rose to 25% this year.

Land-based venues face a change in two stages. The alternative tax on casinos and gaming halls under the Corporate Income Tax Act goes up in 2027. From 2028, it would be replaced by a two-component state fee under the Gambling Act.

Licence costs climb too. Novinite reports that gaming hall operators would pay €75,000 for five years in smaller towns and cities, and €150,000 in settlements of more than 500,000 people. Ten-year licences would cost double.

Suppliers pay more as well. A five-year licence for gaming equipment would cost €50,000, and a ten-year licence €100,000. Licence maintenance fees, social responsibility contributions and fines would also rise.

Payments and data in scope

Banks, payment institutions and e-money companies that handle gambling transactions would face a mandatory contribution. Any fees they earn above 1.5% of transaction value would go to the state budget, according to Novinite and Gaming.net.

Foreign online operators would need a place of business in Bulgaria. Operators’ gaming systems would also connect directly to the National Revenue Agency, sending data in real time or at set intervals.

Addiction-prevention contributions would rise to €60,000 a year for online betting, with lower amounts for casino and other games. The money would be split equally between the ministries of youth and sports, health and education.

Countdown in the Assembly

The draft now goes to parliamentary committees and the National Assembly. No timetable has been announced. With the government and the loudest opposition voices now wanting the same thing, the bill could have a smoother passage than July’s amendments did.

Affiliates with Bulgarian business face the hardest choice: a licensing route that could close almost as soon as it opened. Operators will need to rethink their budgets around fewer sponsorship slots, their own channels and the players they already have.

Channelisation hangs over every decision. As lawmakers weigh tighter marketing and higher fees, the Finance Ministry’s own warnings about the grey market will come back into play.

Industry leaders and regulators gather in Sofia for EEGS 2026 on 25 and 26 November, just as committee scrutiny begins. That gives operators a timely platform to respond.