Te government brought stability not only to the gaming market, but legislation changes have seen foreign investment pour into power generation, banking and heavy industry across Bulgaria. Te country is witnessing a renaissance across many different industries and that wealth is finding its way into the casino network
fruit games are commonplace, but machines that fail to offer the operator the ability to change the percentage payout have performed badly.”
Tere are 20 live table games locations in Bulgaria, with seven located in the capital and the remainder scattered across the country in seasonal resorts. Tere are 800 electronic casinos (slot halls), with 120 in the Sofia alone, most in neighbourhoods with dense populations. Outside these residential areas, shopping centre locations are also popular, with a broad mix of players. “Not long ago, the casino business had a very bad image in Bulgaria,” say Mr. Mihov. “However, in the last two years, there has been a shift in the consciousness of the people and their view of this industry. Te Gaming Act changed things here, with the government viewing the sector as just another regular business. We provide fun and entertainment and we pay our taxes.”
In 2016, the gaming industry in Bulgaria was one of the highest contributors to government coffers, eclipsing the contribution from the country’s banking industry. Te gaming industry in the country has become a massive part of the infrastructure in Bulgaria. Te picture was very
different five year ago. Te Bulgarian government was on a collision course with the gaming industry, with taxation threatened that would cripple the business and send what remained underground. Politics was steering a train of thought that paid little heed to common sense, but as quickly as the storm erupted, it was gone. Te government brought stability not only to the gaming market, but legislation changes have seen foreign investment pour into power generation, banking and heavy industry across Bulgaria. Te country is witnessing a renaissance across many different industries and that wealth is finding its way into the casino network.
Casting an eye around the gaming halls in Sofia, Mr. Mihov confirms our observation that 70-80 per cent of the machines are offering fruit games, with few bonus or free games, with a concentration on the payout percentage return to the player. Te first location we visit is three years old, adjacent to a shopping mall in the centre of Sofia and obviously benefiting from the foot-traffic. Players are registered into the Rhino CMS loyalty system developed by Casino Technology, which provides weekly promotions that Mr. Mihov explains are extremely popular with guests, pointing to a large screen monitor
that displays the weekly win percentage for all the machines in the location. “Tis is not from the bets,” he explains, “but from the win metres. Advertising is unlawful, but we can advertise the company brand and we promote our payouts to customers within each location.”
Mr. Mihov is proud of his 3.2 per cent hold, one of the best in the city, and something his players are only too aware of, even without the video displays. His location is busy on a late Tursday morning, with new customers that Mr. Mihov credits both to the location and to Internet gaming. “I’d say we add 60 new customers to our loyalty programme every month, with around 10 of those players coming directly because they’ve played casino games online,” says Mr. Mihov. “I think at the start, many were afraid of the consequences of online gaming for the land-based business, but online hasn’t affected us negatively. In fact, we have benefited from customers playing in both environments coming into our location more frequently as they generate reward points both off- and online.”
Lottery, sports-betting, gaming halls and casinos have all benefited from the introduction of online gaming in Bulgaria, with the only
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