Bulgaria is a fully regulated EU market where both online and land-based casinos, sports betting, poker, and bingo are licensable, while lotteries are reserved for the state-owned Bulgarian Sports Totalizator (BST). The National Revenue Agency (NRA) administers licensing, supervision, and enforcement under the Gambling Act of 2012, as subsequently amended.
Market Opportunities
- Market scale: Approximately €818m in online GGR; stakes grew approximately 22% year on year (2025).
- Competition: 30 online operators operate under NRA authorisation (2026).
- Demographics: Around 6.5 million residents, with over 90% of households connected to the internet at home. The minimum gambling age is 18.
- Benefits of the market: A single national regulator governs a mature online and land-based framework under the Gambling Act. This structure welcomes EU/EEA/Swiss operators and applies a competitive corporate income tax to online gaming, ensuring predictable taxation compared with EU peers.
Gambling Licensing Checklist for Bulgaria
Online operators applying for a Bulgarian licence should complete the following steps:
- Eligibility confirmation. Apply through an EU/EEA- or Swiss-registered company. Foreign applicants need an authorised representative with a Bulgarian address. A separate NRA licence is required for each game type.
- Funding requirements. Demonstrate €767k in paid-up capital, plus qualifying investment and operating funds of €511k each.
- Fees. Allow €204k per online licence, a recurring 20% fee on GGR – or participation fees and commissions where applicable – and an annual €31k social responsibility contribution per licence. Application processing charges are additional.
- Technical approval. Arrange testing and registration of systems and software with the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology, alongside player identification and reporting integration with the NRA.
- Final approval. Initial checks take up to 60 days, extendable by 30 days in complex cases, followed by a decision within 14 days. Requests for missing information pause the clock.
- How strict are Bulgaria's gambling advertising restrictions?
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Bulgaria's NRA enforces an outright ban on gambling advertising across electronic media, television, radio, and print, under Article 10 of the Gambling Act. Limited exceptions apply to qualifying billboards, premises signage, and certain sports-related placements, subject to content and warning requirements. Licensed sites must still display Bulgarian-language game rules, though this is not a promotional licence.
- Are there specific AML requirements for Bulgarian gambling operators beyond standard KYC?
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Bulgarian operators must conduct risk assessments, ongoing transaction monitoring, and source-of-funds checks under the Anti-Money Laundering Measures Act. Suspicious activity must be reported to DANS's Financial Intelligence Directorate, records must be retained for five years, and written internal AML rules must be adopted within four months of NRA licensing.
- Can one operator hold multiple gambling licences in Bulgaria, and how does this affect fees?
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Bulgaria's NRA requires a separate licence for each game type, so a single company may hold both online casino and sports-betting licences simultaneously. Each licence carries its own fixed and variable charges, plus a per-licence annual social-responsibility contribution; no umbrella licence exists covering multiple verticals.
- How does Bulgaria's NRA verify RNG systems and game fairness?
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Bulgarian regulators require RNGs to be tested by an NRA-registered laboratory holding EN ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, checking statistical independence and interference resistance at a minimum 95% confidence level. The Bulgarian Institute of Metrology registers approved software and equipment before any deployment.
- What restrictions apply to bonuses offered by Bulgarian gambling operators?
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Bulgaria's technical ordinance permits bonuses but requires operators to disclose conditions, time limits, and restrictions clearly within NRA-approved rules. Bonus games must not misleadingly imply better winning odds than stake-based play, and providing loans or credit for gambling is prohibited under the Gambling Act.
