G3-247 Report BULGARIA MARKET REPORT


Striking the right gaming balance


We last visited the Balkans seven years ago and there have been several changes since then as we re-visit Romania and Bulgaria. Most importantly the online gaming sector has made its mark and in particular, the online market in Bulgaria is a prime example of how it can be done.


Bulgaria is home to many prehistoric sites, historical buildings and beautiful architecture. It once served as a bridge between the Eastern and Western Roman Empires and today is still a strategic focal point.


It is said to be the oldest country in Europe and today it is marked with reminders of its history which is a huge pull for tourism coupled with the cheap offerings in terms of hotels, beach life and night time entertainment.


Bulgaria is located in south east Europe and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east.


It is Europe’s 16th largest country and is made up of 28 provinces which take their names from their capital cities. These provinces are then divided into 264 municipalities.


Bulgarian lands were developed during the Neolithic period and ancient history saw the


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01 In 716 AD, the Bulgarians, under the command of Kanasubigi Tervel, came forward at the gates of Constantinople to help the Byzantines against the Muslim threat. In a crucial battle in 718 AD the Bulgarian cavalry defeated the Arabs. Tervel’s sweeping victory left between 60,000-90,000 dead and put an end to the penetration of the Old Continent through the Balkan Peninsula. Historians have called Tervel “The Saviour of Europe.”


02 Bulgaria is the only country in the world to have fired an elected municipal official over playing Farmville. In 2010, Dimitar Kerin, a Plovdiv city councilor, was dismissed in order to “have more time to tend to his virtual farm.”


03 Bulgaria was once home of the Thracians, and a certain hero called Spartacus was born here.


Thracians and later the Greeks and Romans arrive and settle.


A unified Bulgarian state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire in 681CE which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a central hub for Slavs during the Middle Ages.


The Second Bulgarian Empire fell in 1396 and the territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries whilst the Russo Turkish War in 1877 led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State.


Bulgaria aligned with Germany during both world wars and in 1946 it became a single party socialist state as part of the Soviet led Eastern bloc.


Between 1912 and 1918 Bulgaria was involved in three conflicts – two Balkan Wars and World War I. They resulted in significant territorial losses and almost 90,000 soldiers were killed and more than 253,000 refugees immigrated to Bulgaria due to the effects of these wars which placed additional strain on the ruined national economy.


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