Bulgaria's PM Vows a Massive Crackdown on Gambling Ads

Cracking Down on Gambling Advertisements

Prime Minister Rumen Radev on Wednesday announced a new bill targeting the gambling industry including a near-total ban on advertisements.

Drafts to Bulgaria’s Gambling Act are being prepared with the goal of limiting the wide presence of betting and gambling adverts across the country – often endorsed by Bulgarian celebrities and entertainers – as well as curbing addiction issues. 

Billboards and posters promoting such activities will now be prohibited. Bright, flashing, illuminated signs and promotional window displays on casinos and gaming halls will also be banned, as Radev complained that “our towns and villages have come to look like Las Vegas”. 

“We don’t want gambling to have this everyday presence in the eyes of Bulgarian citizens. We don’t want this aggressive way of advertising, which corrupts young people and children,” Radev told the Ministerial Council. 

Stricter Taxation and State Oversight 

The law amendments will require foreign operators licensed in Bulgaria to register their financial activities locally, ensuring they pay taxes and remain subject to state control.

Radev has also talked about a new taxation model for casinos and gaming to reflect real financial outcomes, accompanied by stricter anti-money laundering and tax evasion measures. Taxes on online gambling will increase, with a portion of the revenues directed to sports and education. 

“Whoever operates on the Bulgarian market, and profits from it, will pay taxes here and be subject to full oversight by the Bulgarian state,” Radev added.

Logos and gambling adverts will now be only allowed on official club jerseys and sports halls.  

The law change is expected to be widely supported in parliament, where Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria has a majority of seats, following a landslide election win in April. 

Opposition parties have also called for law changes. The opposition Democratic Bulgaria and We Continue the Change parties earlier this month called for law amendments and criticised governments for not acting on accepted regulations from 2024, when the Gambling Act was created.

In 2024, advertising was prohibited online, on radio and on TV – but this only prompted saw an increase in the visual presence of gambling on billboards, street posters and banners on buildings. 

“Gambling has turned into an epidemic. We accepted amendments in 2024 that also introduced serious limitations but these regulations are not being followed, nor is the state implementing sanctions,” MP Bozhidar Bozhanov of Democratic Bulgaria, which has promoted such bans for years, said on September 9.