Bulgaria Gambling Advertising Ban Push Rejected by Ministry

Bulgaria‘s Finance Ministry has pushed back against opposition calls for a near-total ban on gambling advertising. Deputy Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova delivered the rejection during a parliamentary commission reviewing the second reading of the 2026 budget. Her comments touched on tax policy as much as marketing rules, and neither proposal survived the exchange intact.

The pressure came from two parties that once shared a coalition. Democratic Bulgaria and We Continue the Change split earlier this year over differences in political direction, but both kept pushing for stricter gambling oversight. We Continue the Change wants an almost complete ban on Bulgaria gambling advertising in densely populated areas, on top of existing restrictions near schools and high-footfall locations. Democratic Bulgaria took a different route, repeatedly calling for the GGR tax rate to rise from 20% to 30% alongside steeper licensing fees.

Petkova was not receptive to either idea on its own. She told the commission that adopting these changes piece by piece risks unintended consequences, particularly around Bulgaria’s black market. Her ministry wants a broader look at the entire gambling framework instead, rather than reactive fixes bolted onto unrelated legislation. That includes any future move on gambling advertising in Bulgaria, which she said needs to sit inside a wider plan rather than stand alone.

Bulgaria Gambling Advertising Tied to the Tax Debate

Petkova’s strongest pushback landed on the tax proposal. She acknowledged the appeal of a higher rate, but warned it would not deliver the outcome its supporters expect. Raising taxes tends to push players out of the licensed market and into unregulated alternatives. That shrinks the very base the tax was meant to capture.

She put a number on that risk. Bulgaria’s grey sector already accounts for roughly 40% of gambling activity. The current 20% GGR tax sits in line with what most European markets charge, and Petkova noted that most countries apply a rate between 20% and 25%. So Bulgaria is not undercutting its neighbours on tax. Any increase beyond that band, she said, tends to expand the illegal market rather than shrink it.

This links the tax debate directly to the advertising fight. Petkova frames Bulgaria gambling advertising restrictions and the proposed tax hike as two sides of the same problem. Both look like sensible fixes on paper, but she argues both could backfire without a wider strategy behind them.

A Full Review of the Gambling Act Is Coming

Rather than picking off individual reforms, Petkova confirmed that the Ministry of Finance will undertake a complete review of Bulgaria’s Gambling Act. She pointed to a structural problem behind the current mess. Lawmakers have often slipped amendments into unrelated legislation between the first and second readings of other bills. Untangling the resulting inconsistencies has taken years each time.

That pattern has left the law fragmented. Petkova wants the coming review to fix the framework at its root, not add another rushed patch. The scope of that review will likely shape how the advertising debate plays out too. A comprehensive rewrite gives the Ministry room to address marketing rules on its own timeline, rather than under pressure from a single budget vote.

One provision already sitting inside the 2026 Budget could complicate that process. Lawmakers included a plan to introduce licences for gambling affiliates. The move aims to shore up state finances after a stretch of inflation ahead of Bulgaria’s move into the Eurozone. Whether that clause survives before the budget reaches the National Assembly for a final vote remains unclear, and it adds another layer to an already crowded reform agenda.

A Regulator Missing Key Leadership

Any future changes to the gambling act will need input from Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency, the country’s gambling regulator. But the NRA currently has a gap at the top of its policy structure. The agency has gone without a Director of Gambling Policies since Alexander Popov’s departure, and no replacement has been named.

That vacancy matters. The NRA sits under the Ministry of Finance and would normally shape the technical detail of any framework overhaul. A review this broad, covering advertising limits, tax rates, licensing fees, and affiliate rules all at once, needs steady regulatory leadership to move efficiently. Without a director in place, the timeline for meaningful reform could slip even as political pressure builds.

For now, the message from the Finance Ministry is caution, not resistance to change altogether. Petkova’s position leaves the door open to eventual limits on Bulgaria gambling advertising and to future tax adjustments. Those changes would come once the full Gambling Act review gives the Ministry a clearer picture of the wider landscape. Even then, they will arrive as part of a coordinated rewrite, not a rushed response to opposition demands. How quickly that review moves, and whether the NRA fills its policy director role, will shape how soon Bulgaria’s gambling operators see any real change.