INFOPLAY ANALYSIS: Bulgaria reshapes online gambling with affiliate licensing, payment blocking and BGN 66.9 billion in bets
Bulgaria has placed online gambling at the heart of an extensive regulatory overhaul. Since August 2026, affiliates who acquire players in exchange for performance-based remuneration have been required to obtain their own licence, while the country’s tax authority has expanded its powers to block websites, applications, social media accounts and streaming channels. The changes follow a year in which the regulated market recorded BGN 66.9 billion in bets, an extraordinary figure that must be interpreted in light of the extensive recycling of player funds, and come amid an ongoing debate over taxation, advertising, illegal gambling, player protection and prediction markets.
Bulgaria has become one of Europe’s most interesting regulatory laboratories for online gambling. In just two years, the country has severely restricted advertising, expanded self-exclusion, strengthened real-time supervision, intensified the blocking of illegal operators and introduced a specific licence for affiliates.
The result is not a prohibition of digital gambling, but a much broader model of control. Regulatory oversight no longer ends with the operator that accepts a bet. It now extends to those who acquire players, the channels used to promote gambling brands, payment service providers and the technological infrastructure through which platforms are accessed.
The reform also coincides with a market of apparently exceptional scale. According to National Revenue Agency (NRA) data provided to Bulgarian media outlet Mediapool, bets placed through the legal online gambling market reached BGN 66.9 billion in 2025, up from BGN 55 billion in 2024 and BGN 44 billion in 2023. Data on Bulgaria’s online gambling market.
The scale of these figures, the entry into force of the new obligations and the announced comprehensive review of the Gambling Act depict an attractive market that is becoming increasingly demanding for operators, suppliers, affiliates and media companies.
BGN 66.9 billion in bets: a figure that must be interpreted correctly
The most striking figure in the Bulgarian market is also the one that requires the greatest caution.
In 2025, legal online operators recorded bets worth BGN 66.9 billion, while the prizes they paid out amounted to BGN 65.3 billion. The difference was approximately BGN 1.6 billion, equivalent to around €818 million at the irrevocable conversion rate of BGN 1.95583 per euro.
This does not mean that Bulgarian players deposited BGN 66.9 billion in new money into their accounts. Betting turnover records every transaction, including winnings that remain in players’ wallets and are wagered again. The same balance can be recycled many times and included in total turnover each time a new bet is placed.
Turnover should therefore not be confused with net deposits, actual consumer expenditure or gross gaming revenue. The difference between bets and prizes provides the closest approximation to GGR, although it may also require accounting adjustments depending on the product and methodology used.
Nevertheless, the growth remains significant. Reported legal turnover increased by approximately 52% between 2023 and 2025. At the same time, the absence of a consistent public data series on deposits and withdrawals makes it impossible to determine precisely how much new money is entering the online ecosystem and how much reflects the repeated recycling of account balances.
This distinction is essential to any analysis of taxation, market sustainability or gambling intensity. Presenting BGN 66.9 billion as the amount actually spent by players would lead to an incorrect conclusion.
The NRA concentrates regulatory supervision
Gambling regulation is the responsibility of the National Revenue Agency, Bulgaria’s tax authority, which assumed the functions of the former State Commission on Gambling in 2020.
The NRA’s executive director issues, amends, suspends and revokes licences. The agency maintains the registers of authorised operators, supervises online platforms, receives transaction information and publishes lists of websites through which gambling is offered without authorisation. Official NRA information on gambling and the register of unauthorised websites.
Bulgaria operates as a nationally regulated market. A licence from Malta, Curaçao or any other jurisdiction does not automatically permit a company to target Bulgarian consumers. The activity must be covered by a licence issued under domestic legislation, and each authorisation specifies the games or services its holder may provide.
The framework accepts applicants established in Bulgaria, other European Union or European Economic Area countries, or Switzerland. For online gambling, the legislation requires evidence of minimum investments of BGN 1 million, together with a further BGN 1 million in resources allocated to organising the activity. A standard licence is generally granted for five years and may be extended to ten years when certain investment thresholds are exceeded. Official NRA information on online gambling licences and the consolidated text of the Gambling Act.
The technological infrastructure also falls within the regulatory perimeter. The system must register and identify players, retain information about bets and prizes and provide data to the NRA. The legislation requires every transaction to be recorded online in the authority’s systems. It also provides for IP-address geolocation and requires data concerning the date, time and duration of gambling sessions to be retained for at least 12 months.
For an international company, entering Bulgaria does not simply involve translating a website or connecting a payment gateway. It requires an architecture capable of meeting domestic controls, transmitting data and reconstructing player activity.
The applicable rate is 20%, not 25%
Bulgarian gambling taxation has created confusion in some of the international information published during 2026.
The current wording of Article 30 of the Gambling Act establishes a two-part state fee for online betting: a one-off payment of BGN 400,000 and a variable component equal to 20% of the difference between the bets accepted and the prizes paid. For products that operate through participation fees or commissions, the 20% rate applies to those amounts.
The applicable rate is therefore not 25%. Tax increases were discussed during the budgetary process, and the opposition proposed raising the rate to 30% and doubling certain fixed fees, but those initiatives were unsuccessful. The Ministry of Finance instead announced a comprehensive review of the legislation rather than introducing another series of partial amendments. Bulgaria’s 2026 Budget Act published in the State Gazette and the debate over the Gambling Act review.
An annual contribution of BGN 60,000 for each online licence must also be paid to finance social responsibility policies. The revenue is divided between the ministries responsible for youth and sport and for health.
This structure has a clear commercial consequence: profitability depends not only on betting volume, but also on the actual difference between bets and prizes, the fixed cost of market entry, the technological obligations and the expenditure required to acquire customers in a market where advertising is severely restricted.
The major development: affiliates now need a licence
Since 1 August 2026, Bulgaria has included affiliates within the formal licensing perimeter. It is one of the most significant changes introduced recently in a European market because it turns an activity traditionally governed by commercial contracts into a regulatory category in its own right.
The legislation defines an affiliate as a natural or legal person, other than the gambling operator, that promotes gambling products in exchange for performance-related remuneration. The definition includes commissions linked to the number of players acquired, deposits, bets or other measurable indicators.
Advertising providers, media companies and technical service providers paid a fixed amount that does not depend on performance fall outside this definition. The decisive factor is therefore not the name given to the contract, but the economic relationship between the payment and the behaviour of the referred users.
Affiliates that already had agreements with authorised operators on 1 August were given until 15 August 2026 to apply for a licence. The transitional provision maintains the validity of those contracts until the NRA reaches a decision, provided that the application was submitted within the prescribed period. Official NRA notice concerning the new licence.
The application must identify every channel used, including websites, mobile applications, social media profiles and video or streaming platforms. A foreign affiliate must also appoint a representative domiciled in Bulgaria with sufficient authority to enter into contracts on its behalf and represent it before public authorities and courts.
The licence, normally granted for five years, only permits the promotion of operators authorised in Bulgaria. The country therefore establishes a double licensing requirement: the gambling operator must be licensed, and so must the partner receiving commission for directing players to it.
The cost includes a fixed annual fee of €6,000 and a variable component equal to 10% of the performance-related commission. The operator paying the commission must withhold and transfer this amount to the NRA. When a simulated transaction conceals this type of remuneration, the variable rate rises to 20%. Legal analysis of the new Bulgarian affiliate rules.
Specific advertising penalties can range from €2,000 to €5,000 for individuals and from €3,000 to €8,000 for companies. The licence may also be suspended for a period of between three and six months, while repeated infringements increase the risk of revocation.
The economic impact will be significant. Small affiliates will need to decide whether the Bulgarian market justifies the fixed cost, local representation, advertising compliance and the levy on commissions. For operators, affiliate management is no longer merely a commercial function: it requires licence verification, contract reviews, withholding of the variable component and controls to ensure that each declared channel complies with the regulations.
Advertising has been almost entirely removed from the media
In May 2024, Bulgaria approved one of Europe’s broadest gambling advertising restrictions. The legislation prohibits gambling advertising on radio and television, in the press, in electronic media—including websites—in public places, on building façades and on state- or municipally owned property, subject to limited exceptions. Advertising reform published in the Bulgarian State Gazette.
Outdoor advertising remains possible on billboards located at least 300 metres from schools, universities, playgrounds, student accommodation and certain social services. Advertising is also permitted on the façade of an authorised gambling venue, although it may not cover more than 20% of the surface or exceed 50 square metres.
Sponsorship and branding on sports kits, facilities and promotional materials remain possible under certain conditions, except on products aimed at minors. Permitted advertisements may identify the brand, name and type of game or communicate information about draws and prizes, but the legislation restricts their content and prohibits the inclusion of figures.
At least 10% of the space in certain permitted advertisements must also be devoted to a warning that gambling carries a risk of addiction.
Bringing affiliates within the licensing regime does not reopen digital marketing channels. On the contrary, the same restrictions expressly apply to them. An affiliate licence does not constitute general permission to advertise through social media, search engines or digital media. It authorises an economic activity that must be conducted within an exceptionally narrow advertising framework.
A proposal to extend the prohibition even further was debated in July 2026 but rejected. The 2024 framework remains the current reference point while the Ministry of Finance prepares a more extensive legislative reform.
Enforcement expands from websites to applications and social media
The new model strengthens the NRA’s ability to act against unauthorised gambling.
The authority can order the blocking of websites that organise gambling without a licence. Since August 2026, that power has been extended to websites, applications, social media profiles and video or streaming channels used by unlicensed affiliates. Communications providers must prevent access to the affected websites within 24 hours of the decision being published. The NRA publishes both the official list of authorised gambling websites and its decisions and lists of unauthorised websites.
The financial dimension is also becoming increasingly important. The NRA must periodically provide banks, payment institutions and electronic money institutions with the identifiers of bank accounts and terminals associated with persons included in the relevant registers. The objective is to obstruct flows to and from the illegal market and supplement domain blocking with a barrier affecting payments.
The legislation already prohibits consumers from participating in games organised by unlicensed companies and bans prepaid vouchers intended for online betting. It also restricts postal transfers to or from unauthorised operators.
The scale of the enforcement effort demonstrates the illegal market’s ability to reappear. During 2024, the NRA blocked more than 2,500 websites associated with unauthorised gambling; approximately 640 orders were issued in September alone. Overview of gambling websites blocked in Bulgaria.
Domain blocking remains necessary, but it is insufficient when a brand can reappear under another address, an alternative application or a different social media account. Bulgaria’s response attempts to act simultaneously on access, promotion and payments.
Polymarket blocked as Bulgaria opens a regulated route for prediction markets
Bulgaria’s treatment of prediction markets clearly illustrates its regulatory approach: innovation is not necessarily prohibited, but it must fit within an authorised category.
In February 2026, the Sofia Regional Court included Polymarket among the websites to be blocked for providing services without a Bulgarian licence. The decision, published by the NRA, ordered access to polymarket.com and www.polymarket.com to be restricted. Court decision concerning the blocked websites.
Six months later, local operator inbet announced an agreement with Predikto to launch an offering based on predictions about events. The activity relies on categories already recognised by the legislation, including betting on random events and on knowledge of facts, although there is currently no separate licence specifically called a “prediction market licence”. Agreement between inbet and Predikto.
There is not necessarily a contradiction between the two developments. The decisive difference is local authorisation. Bulgaria blocks a foreign platform operating outside its framework while allowing a licensed domestic company to introduce an innovative product within categories supervised by the NRA.
For B2B suppliers, the message is significant: demand for new formats exists, but distribution must be organised through locally licensed operators and a legal classification accepted by the NRA.
Player protection advances but retains a decisive gap
Bulgaria has strengthened its register of vulnerable persons and its self-exclusion regime. Since 27 March 2025, the minimum voluntary registration period has been 12 months, compared with the 30 days permitted under the previous system. Operators must consult the register and deny access to registered individuals. Official information on responsible gambling.
In March 2026, the Ministry of Health stated that approximately 50,000 people had voluntarily joined the register. The figure does not represent the total number of people experiencing gambling problems, but it does demonstrate significant use of the self-exclusion mechanism.
The framework also provides for the automatic inclusion of certain groups, including recipients of specific social benefits, individuals listed in health registers because of particular medical conditions and citizens subject to incapacity or guardianship measures.
The Ministry of Health has also presented a project to finance prevention, treatment and therapy through operators’ social responsibility contributions. Funding project for prevention and treatment.
However, the main technical player protection regulations remain pending. The legislation requires rules establishing the maximum time users may spend on gambling platforms, maximum losses over specified periods and betting limits according to the type of game and time of day. Lower thresholds must be applied to users under the age of 24.
By mid-2026, those regulations had still not been approved, even though the relevant statutory provisions entered into force in January 2025. The delay leaves a significant gap between the regulatory principle and its practical application.
For operators, the risk is twofold. They cannot definitively configure their controls until the thresholds are known. Once the rules are approved, however, the adaptation period may affect limit engines, risk profiles, wallets, alerts, session histories and age-based rules.
Anti-money laundering remains under international scrutiny
Bulgaria’s position regarding the prevention of money laundering adds another layer of compliance to the market.
In June 2026, the Financial Action Task Force determined that Bulgaria had substantially completed its action plan and that an on-site assessment was warranted. That visit must verify that the reforms have begun to be implemented on a sustained basis and that there is sufficient political commitment to maintain them.
Until that process is completed and a formal decision is adopted, Bulgaria technically remains among the jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring. It is therefore not yet accurate to state that the country has been removed from the list, although it has reached the final verification stage. FATF assessment from June 2026.
For online gambling, this situation increases the attention paid to customer identification, beneficial ownership, source of funds, transaction monitoring and the reporting of suspicious activity. The Gambling Act even permits measures to be taken against licences when systematic infringements of anti-money laundering or counter-terrorist financing requirements occur.
A demanding market that continues to attract suppliers
Regulatory pressure has not brought commercial activity to a halt. Several transactions announced during 2026 demonstrate continued interest in the regulated market.
In March, Digitain obtained Bulgarian manufacturer and importer licences, expanding its regulated presence in Europe. Digitain’s Bulgarian licences.
In June, Hacksaw Gaming partnered with MagicBet and stated that the operator had become its 17th active partner in Bulgaria’s regulated market. Agreement between Hacksaw Gaming and MagicBet.
In August, Yggdrasil expanded its distribution through an agreement with alphawin. Yggdrasil’s expansion with alphawin.
The opposite case is represented by LiveScore Bet, which announced its withdrawal from the market before the end of 2025. The company primarily attributed the decision to the effect of the UK tax increase on its global strategy, but also referred to regulatory uncertainty and the possibility of a tax increase in Bulgaria. LiveScore Bet statement concerning its withdrawal.
The combination of new integrations and market exits demonstrates that aggregate growth does not create the same opportunity for every company. Viability depends on scale, customer acquisition costs, the licence portfolio, taxation, technological capacity and the ability to reuse compliance systems across different markets.
The central debate will be how to protect legal channelisation
During the parliamentary debate in July 2026, Ministry of Finance officials estimated that legal supply could account for approximately 60% of the market, leaving close to 40% in the unauthorised segment. This should be treated as an official estimate rather than an audited measurement of market share.
The figure helps explain why the government rejected an immediate increase in the variable tax rate to 30%. Its central argument was that an excessive increase could weaken the ability of authorised operators to compete and push users towards unlicensed websites.
The dilemma is shared by other European markets: higher taxes and additional restrictions may increase public revenue or reduce exposure to advertising, but they can also make the legal market more expensive, reduce promotional offers, restrict the product catalogue and widen the competitive gap with operators that pay no taxes and apply no controls.
Bulgaria is attempting to respond with a different combination of measures: retaining the 20% rate for the time being, closing access to mass advertising, licensing affiliates and strengthening technological and financial blocking.
Success will depend less on the number of prohibitions than on their enforcement. To improve channelisation, blocking orders must be implemented quickly, payment flows must be traceable, registers must be kept up to date and the legal product must remain competitive.
A comprehensive reform that has yet to be written
In July, the Ministry of Finance announced a full review of the Gambling Act. The decision acknowledges that the legislation has been amended on numerous occasions and that some fundamental secondary regulations have still not been approved.
The outstanding agenda includes limits on time, losses and bets; the measurement of distances for outdoor advertising; the effective financing of treatment and prevention; transparency concerning bonuses and balances; and coordination between gambling regulation, payment systems and anti-money laundering requirements.
The new affiliate licence provides an indication of the likely future direction: Bulgaria wants every link in the chain capable of generating acquisition, activity or financial flows to be identifiable and accountable to the regulator.
For international operators and suppliers, the strategic conclusion is clear. The Bulgarian market offers volume, a developed digital player base and room for new products, but it requires compliance to be incorporated into the architecture of the business. Obtaining a B2C licence is not enough. Companies must also control affiliates, advertising, payments, geolocation, data transmission, anti-money laundering procedures and player protection tools.
The most profound change is not a single tax or prohibition. It is the transition from supervising individual operators to supervising the entire ecosystem.
Main official sources
