Bulgaria?s parliament adopted a new law last week to regulate the online gaming industry for the first time in the former Eastern Bloc country. Legislation has prompted the government to draft regulation for all forms of gaming in Bulgaria.
Internet gambling has been legal in Bulgaria since 2008, but is not strictly regulated. This enables a large amount of illegal sites to slip through the gaps, siphoning off much need tax revenue and making it more difficult for legitimate sites to operate.
The new legislative bill ruled by the Bulgarian State Gambling Commission and approved in the Sofia Regional Court, sets special licensing regimes for all online casinos, both domestic and foreign.
Regulations demand internet service providers block access to any unlicensed websites operating in the country, despite claims that this motion may in fact block authorised websites. Additionally, a ?black list? of blocked sites will be recorded by the Bulgarian government.
The bill also includes changes in the rules for sending text messages, requirements for a particular distance between casinos and public buildings, and a ban on direct gambling advertisements.
The rate of taxation will increase to 17 percent of gross profits and all applicants must have a minimum of five years experience operating in Bulgaria as well as a land-based presence.
Imposing these regulatory measures will reportedly generate as much as $100 million Leva (us$67 million) annually for the government.
Under Bulgarian law, half the money generated from gaming taxes will go directly to youth sports programs.
A member of the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party Rumen Ovcharov, was the only MP to not approve the measure and instead requested illegal operators should be punished on an individual basis under the gambling act.
But Ovcharov?s attempts were overturned after Deyan Chervenkondev of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, declared that current European directives permit nations to use a black-list method.
Bulgarian ministers are now planning to draft new legislation to regulate not just online gambling, but all forms of gambling in the country.
More InformationBulgarian Gaming Association ? Website: www.BTAGI.org
Eastern European Gaming Summit ? Website: www.EEGamingSummit.com
Contact editor Michael Robinson at mrobinson@innovategaming.com
or +44 (0) 208 144 2578. Follow @innovate_gaming on Twitter.
Source: http://www.innovategaming.com/bulgaria-to-regulate-online-gaming
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