G3-247 Report BULGARIA MARKET REPORT
LIST OF THE 12 LICENSED WEBSITES IN BULGARIA FOR ONLINE BETTING WEBSITE
TYPE OF BETTING
EFBET.COM TOTO.BG TOTO.BG
POKERSTARS.BG EFBET.COM
BETFAIR.COM BETFAIR.COM
EUROFOOTBALL.BG NOVABET.BG EUROBET.BG EUROBET.BG ECASINO.BG
ONLINE SPORTS BETTING, HORSE AND DOG RACING ONLINE SPORTS BETTING, HORSE AND DOG RACING ONLINE LOTTERY GAMES ONLINE CASINO GAMES ONLINE CASINO GAMES
ONLINE SPORTS BETTING, HORSE AND DOG RACING ONLINE CASINO GAMES
ONLIEN SPORTS BETTING AND HORSE AND DOG RACING ONLINE SPORTS BETTING, HORSE AND DOG RACING ONLINE LOTTERY GAMES
ONLINE BETTING ON CHANCE EVENTS ONLINE CASINO GAMES
apply. Since the beginning of 2014 Pokerstars and Betfair were granted licences and they joined Efbet and Eurofootball and state owned Bulgarian Sports Totalisator. At the moment there are 12 licences granted to eight legal companies.
Eurofootball Malta was the first operator with a licence for operating online games in Bulgaria and although the company was officially registered in Sofia at the beginning of 1993, the history of the company dates back to 1990 when the bets on football matches were accepted in seven bookmaking points in large towns around the capital.
wishing to operate games must have a Local Control Server (LCS) which is then connected to a central computer system for the purpose of storing data
Meanwhile and more importantly the tax system changed to include:
l
15 percent turnover tax was replaced with 20 percent tax on GGR
l
A one off fixed rate fee to the gaming board of BGN100,000 (around €50,000) which is for the five year licence.
l
For games in which fees and commissions are collected (ie poker) the tax rate is 20 percent of the collected fees.
l
Offline bingo and keno is taxed at a 10 percent corporate tax rate.
l
In addition since Jan 2014 they also pay BGN50,000 annually which goes towards problem gambling programmes.
This seemed to do the trick and operators began to
Eurofootball Limited was established three years later and in August 1993 the first nationwide Eurofootball draw was organised. In the same year the company also received a licence from Bulgaria’s Ministry of Finance to organise bets on football matches in agent shops throughout the whole country. The group also has a licence to organise bets on other sport competitions.
In February 2002 the Greek Intralot Group acquired a 49 percent stake within the company and a year later a new centralised computer system for online betting in real time was introduced.
In 2012 this was updated to provide the Loto OS platform offering better betting options including more products and additional live betting. In 2011 the company launched ‘Races’ which bet on the outcome of greyhound races transmitted liver from the UK. In March 2013 a new virtual races product was also added.
Despite the tax rate of 15 percent on turnover and illegal operations in Bulgaria the company remained in the market place and today remains the largest taxpayer in the field of gambling in Bulgaria. In 2012 the company saw bet incomes of BGN204.1m paying gambling taxes of BGN30.6m.
Eurofootball currently has more than 770 points of sale across the country and employs nearly 3,000 trained bookmakers.
Many predicated an influx of around 40 companies that would apply for licences in reality only a dozen applied however the bill was said to be one of the most ‘reasonable and competitive’ and could turn out to be one of the best in Europe.
There are on the other hand over 320 plus banned domain names (by November 2014) on the blacklist which includes 20 of the biggest online gaming sites such as Bet365 and Ladbrokes for instance. The blacklist was introduced in June 2013. The commission announced its plan to IP block unlicensed gaming sites in 2012 and the move was to precede the introduction of a regulated online gambling regime.
Since introducing the regulations the SCG has blocked 283 domains. Only licensed operators are allowed to advertise albeit in a strictly regulated way but this is the main hurdle for unlicensed operators.
Pokerstars received its licence in August 2014 and as such became the first online poker site to be given permission to operate in Bulgaria.
“Bulgaria is full of promise” said Pokerstar’s Eric Hollreiser, head of Corporate Communications at the time. “We believe in the potential of the Bulgarian market and that is why our company has invested in the local licence. Regulation provides peace of mind for players and ensures that local regulators can protect consumers and collect much needed revenue.”
Buglaria’s online players also now have the chance to take part in all major online events planned such as the World Championship of Online Poker.
Unlicensed companies are eligible for fines ranging from BGN500,000 to BGN1m for an individual and between BGN1m and BGN2m for a company. State tax receipts were in 2013 around BGN120m.
Many say Bulgaria is now one of the most balanced online markets in Europe.
6 7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138