With the changes in art. 30, para 3 of the Gambling Act, which entered into force on 01.01.2024, a two-component fee has actually been introduced for maintaining a license for organizing gambling games – traditional lottery, raffle, instant lottery, lotto, lotto, bingo, keno and their varieties, games with betting on the results of sports competitions and horse and dog racing, games with betting on random events and betting, related to knowledge of facts, except for online betting.

The two-component state fee consists of a one-time fee of BGN 300 000 and a variable part of 20 per cent on the difference between the value of the bets received and the winnings paid, and for games for which fees and commissions are collected for participation – in the amount of 20 per cent on the value of the fees and commissions received. In the previous version of the law, only a fee of 15 per cent was collected on the value of the bets made for each game.

This change definitely leads to a real increase in revenue in the fisc. The new texts in the Gambling Act led to equal taxation of bets placed on land-based and online bets on sports events, horses and dogs and random events. Before the change of the Gambling Act, in practice, in the same type of gambling, when making a bet on land and online, there was a difference in the fees due.

After the changes in the Gambling Act from 01.01.2024, there was no increase in requests for a license for the organization of gambling games on the ground through points for accepting bets and paying out winnings. All submitted requests for issuance of this type of license were submitted before the adoption of the amendments to the law, and all current licenses for this type of gambling were issued before 31.12.2023.

In addition, at the initiative of the NRA and the Ministry of Finance, at the end of 2023, a working group was formed at the Ministry of Finance to analyze the current Gambling Act and the opportunities for improving and refining its norms.