Bill Aiming to Restrict Gambling Advertising from Bulgaria Gains Support from Two Big Parties

Betting advertising could be limited further in Bulgaria for a bill on the matter gained earlier today support from the judgment Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria celebration (GERB) and from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), in a rare case of political concord on a particular issue between the country’s important celebrations.

Developed by Deputy Prime Minister Valery Simeonov, the bill involves the introduction of stricter controls over the way gambling products and services are promoted across Bulgarian media. If it comes into force, it is going to close loopholes in the country’s present gambling advertising regulations that make it possible for operators to proactively market their products despite an overall ban on direct marketing.

Minister Simeonov met Thursday morning with representatives from GERB and BSP, seeking support for his gambling advertising bill as well as for other non-gambling legislative bits.

Critics of GERB and BSP informed Minister Simeonov that they’d back the proposed changes since these would curb the aggressive advertising of gambling providers across television, radio, and also the world wide web.

Following today’s meeting, GERB leader Tsvetan Tsvetanov said that current regulations are creating favorable conditions for overly extreme marketing of various gambling-related products. The politician additionally pointed out that the current state of affairs represents an epidemic that interrupts the youngest members of the country’s population as well as people of reduced financial standing who appear to be susceptible to the allure of gambling activities.

Socialist Party leader Korneliya Ninova said today that they consider the proposed legislation would supply the necessary controls and that they’d support it. Ms. Ninova added that taxing gambling companies at a lower speed, while imposing heavy taxes on kids’s food represent rather odd policy-making approaches that prioritize the country’s gambling sector over its youngest residents.

Ms. Ninova’s comments might have suggested that changes in the way gambling businesses are taxed in Bulgaria might also be brought up for consideration, although she did not dwell further on the situation.

Following his encounters, Minster Simeonov pointed out that with assistance from two big parties his legislative proposal could probably pass a parliamentary vote and there would probably be little hurdles to block its implementation.

Gambling Marketing in Bulgaria

Direct advertising of gambling products and services is illegal from Bulgaria under the country’s present gambling law. However, there have been particular loopholes in the existing regulations that have allowed gambling operators to promote their activities indirectly on radio and television.

Because of this, the names of gambling products, such as scratchcards and different games, as well as the names of the businesses behind any such activities can be mentioned across websites under certain circumstances, and this is not regarded as illegal. For example, particular programs during which draws of the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator take place or the results from even the winners of different gambling activities are announced are usually used to as a way for distinct gambling products to be promoted indirectly. These programs are usually broadcast round or through prime time.

Minister Simeonov’s invoice intends to close such loopholes and also to urge the country’s gambling regulator, the Bulgarian State Gambling Commission, to adopt harsher policies in relation to the prevention and regulation of competitive gambling advertising.

Bulgaria’s gambling market was worth BGN3 billion (roughly $1.9 billion) in 2017, as Casino News Daily reported last month citing local news outlets. The Southeast European country has seen its gambling industry grow at a steady rate since the debut of its present gambling law back in 2013. The massively popular scratchcards have been the most important driver of growth over the previous several decades. Earnings from people totaled BGN320 million from the year to December 2016, up almost 30% from 2015.