Will gambling advertising ban lead to the end of the industry in Bulgaria?

A few months ago, the parliament in Bulgaria decided to completely ban advertising for all types of gambling. Since then, even licensed gambling providers have not been able to advertise on television, radio or the Internet. Only conventional poster advertising is still permitted under Bulgarian law under strict conditions. Over five years ago, we at Casinova.org reported on false hopes in gambling in Bulgaria.

Gambling providers complain of sharply falling revenues

With the introduction of the strict gambling advertising ban, the revenues of licensed gambling providers in the south-eastern European country have also fallen sharply. Several large gambling providers such as Betfair and Betway have now said goodbye to the Bulgarian gambling market. The remaining providers are now complaining of a sharp drop in website visits to online casinos and betting providers and are calling for an end to the strict advertising ban.

At the billion-dollar gambling group Entain, page views have fallen by up to 17% since the advertising ban was introduced. As a result, revenue losses of a similar amount are likely to have been suffered. Back in December last year, we at Casinova asked ourselves how sensible a gambling advertising ban could be in principle.

Bulgarian parliament takes tough action

The Bulgarian parliament passed a corresponding law some time ago, which came into force in May of this year. Since then, there has not only been a complete ban on gambling advertising, but also a requirement that no gambling halls may exist in cities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants.

While gambling advertising on TV, radio and the Internet is banned, the new law still allows poster advertising for gambling. However, the legislator stipulates that at least 10% of the advertising space must be printed with warnings about the dangers of gambling. In addition, a minimum distance of 300 meters must be maintained from every school and every playground.

Bulgaria is becoming increasingly unattractive for gambling providers

In addition to the fact that there is now a strict gambling advertising ban in Bulgaria, the country is not really attractive for the industry from other perspectives either. In Bulgaria, for example, the license fee for betting providers is now the equivalent of 204,000 euros. For comparison: Until recently it was “only” 51,000 euros. And that despite the fact that Bulgaria has a population of just 6.5 million people. In nearby Romania, the fee structure for providers is even less attractive. Here, online casinos have to pay an annual fee of 500,000 euros.

It is currently not expected that the situation for gambling providers in Bulgaria will improve in the future. It is therefore likely that more licensed providers will leave the Bulgarian gambling market in the coming weeks or months. Ultimately, this development could once again benefit the black market, which of course does not adhere to the applicable laws and therefore tries to aggressively recruit new players despite the advertising ban.