Bulgaria moves to ban gambling ads, raise licence fees and impose local presence rules for overseas operators

Bulgaria has submitted Gambling Act amendments that would ban gambling advertising and affiliate marketing, while also lifting licence fees and adding new compliance requirements for offshore operators. For PSPs and acquiring teams, the important part is not the slogan; it is the combination of ad restrictions, higher cost of market access and tighter reporting links to the National Revenue Agency.

1. The Council of Ministers approved the amendments and submitted the bill to the National Assembly on November 11, 2026. If adopted, the package would prohibit gambling advertising across all formats, channels and locations, and it would also ban gambling affiliate marketing outright.
2. The draft keeps only narrow sponsorship exceptions. Gambling companies would still be allowed to display trademarks for sponsorships tied to sports clubs, federations, associations and organisations, plus initiatives in culture, healthcare and education. Even there, the text says restrictions would apply to television broadcasts and online coverage of sponsored events.
3. Fees are going up. Five-year licence fees would rise to €400,000 for online betting and €300,000 for casinos, lotteries and sports betting. For 10-year terms, all fees would double.
4. The tax side gets heavier too. Quarterly gaming equipment taxes would increase in 2027, and from January 1, 2028, a new state-fee model would set a €100,000 minimum monthly fee for online betting operators.
5. Overseas online operators would have to establish a local business presence, connect their systems to the National Revenue Agency and pay €60,000 annually toward responsible gambling programmes. For cross-border operators, that turns Bulgaria from a paperwork jurisdiction into a place where local setup and ongoing reporting become part of the cost of doing business.