Bulgaria Blocks 600 Unlicensed Gambling Websites

Bulgaria continues its intense crackdown on illegal gambling. According to its latest report, the National Revenue Agency (NRA), the body responsible for regulating gambling in the country, has identified and blocked over 600 unlicensed gambling websites in the last three months of 2023 alone.

The latest ban wave saw the NRA take action against sites such as 22bet, leon casino and luckyhit, among others. All these websites lacked a valid license, yet still allowed Bulgarian consumers to register and participate in online games of chance.

Sites included in the NRA’s list of unlicensed gambling operators are usually required to cease their activity within three days of the announcement. If they fail to do so and still accept bets following this period, the NRA can request court action, which, in turn, can require internet service providers to block access to the operators’ websites and all sub-domains.

The NRA’s decisions and the decisions of the Sofia Regional Court can be seen in the Online Gambling section on the regulatory body’s official website. The NRA also maintains and constantly updates lists of both the licensed and unlicensed gambling operators in the country.

Consumers can report illegal gambling websites to the NRA, helping it to keep the Bulgarian market free of unlicensed gambling.

Bulgaria’s Gambling Laws Continue to Change

In the meantime, Bulgaria continues to update its gambling laws. In December, the Balkan country introduced drastic tax hikes for licensed gambling operators, in spite of objections by the Association of the Gaming Industry in Bulgaria (AGIB).

The overhaul of the costs would bring an additional BGN 200 million in tax revenue and, according to MP Petar Petrov, would create а level playing field for all operators.

In the meantime, Bulgaria is also reinforcing its rules on gambling in collaboration with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The ongoing efforts seek to bolster Bulgaria’s AML and CTF efforts.

In unrelated news, Stefan Milanov, a Bulgarian tennis official, was recently suspended for sixteen years over severе TACP violations.