Bulgarian Legislature abolishes Gambling Commission National and give the role to Revenue Agency

After a series of scandals the Bulgarian legislature approved the second reading of a bill that will abolish the troubled existing gambling regulator. At the same time, according to the bill, the role will be handed to the National Revenue Agency, while there will be introduced new capital requirements for licensees.

Last June the bill 054-01-51 to Amend and Supplement the Gambling Act was approved by the Committee on Budgets and Finance, the Committee on Culture and the Media, the Committee on Children, Youth and Sport and the Committee on Budgets and Finance. The original idea was to create a new gambling regulator, the State Gambling Agency, which would be a new specialised body within the country’s Council of Ministers. 

However, it was agreed by the Bulgarian government to allow the National Revenue Agency to take over this role. It was then approved at its second reading on July 23, sending it to President Rumen Radev. 

Alexander Ivanov who supported the bill said in a committee hearing.“The changes are aimed at clarifying the status of the gambling regulator and ensuring transparency in its work, which, in turn, will lead to optimisation and increase the quality of its activities”.

It’s interesting that the bill also sets out new capital requirements for licensees after an amendment put forward by Valeri Simeonov. This includes a BGN1m capital requirement for slot licensees, a BGN1.5m requirement for casino licensees and a BGN3m requirement for those offering online gambling.