Bulgaria’s Parliament voted on Wednesday against a proposal to privatize the gambling industry and establish a state monopoly instead. This comes on the heels of another proposal to issue a tender and privatize the National Lottery, citing successful examples elsewhere in Europe, including the United Kingdom.
Bulgaria Rejects Attempt to Nationalize All Gambling
The vote was a hesitant one, with 58 votes in favor of rejecting the privatization, 14 against, and 96 abstentions, thus falling short of the 121-vote majority needed to pass a draft bill. Submitted by MP Hristo Rastashki of Mech, and backed by Vazrazhdane, both far-right parties with presumed ties to Russia and open endorsement of Russia’s foreign policy, including its invasion of Ukraine.
MP Kliment Shopov of Vazrazhdane has criticized the outcome of the vote, calling gambling a social ill that needs to be uprooted. Yet, establishing a state monopoly on gambling usually hurts channelization and is tied to empowering the black market.
Shopov has gone a step further, though, to call for a complete ban on gambling as it is a way to fund the state budget by preying on vulnerable gamblers. However, Shopov acquiesced that Mech’s proposal was a “better version” of the current system, allowing the state to take control over the industry and run all gambling operations.
He is, in fact, wrong, and Bulgaria would have taken a significant step back from established European regulations. Shopov is, however, correct in his surmise that gambling has gone unchecked.
Walk the streets of any small or major town or city in the country, and you will encounter casinos as often as you would not, along with gambling companies’ branding, even though the country technically prohibits gambling signage in specific locations.
These rules are not upheld or enforced, however, which creates a vacuum when it comes to regulation, with companies exploiting the state’s failure to enforce rules.
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Another Mech MP, Hristo Rastashki, has agreed that bringing all gambling activities under the Bulgarian National Lottery, the Sports Totalizator, would be best for the country.
Rastashki argues that the Sports Totalizator would do a much better job of regulating the industry. Pushback came from the GERB-UDF party and its MP, Branimir Balachev, who warned that such a privatization bid would immediately cost the country EUR 200 million ($233 million).
He added that Bulgaria has established itself as a gambling tourist destination with citizens from countries such as Israel and Iran arriving to gamble locally, and contributing to the local budget.