Bulgaria draws up blacklist of unlicensed operators

The Bulgarian State Gambling Commission has drawn up a blacklist of unlicensed sites, with a total of 20 operators named on the inaugural list.

A number of leading European brands, including Bet365, Betfair and Ladbrokes are among those to be blacklisted, with players now likely to be blocked from accessing the sites as a result of a mandate passed by the Bulgarian parliament. Sportingbet was also added to the list, despite the operator’s acquisition by GVC Holdings and William Hill.

The mandate gave the State Gambling Commission the power to order internet service providers to block unlicensed sites, after being passed by the parliament in March last year.

At the time it was expected to be a precursor to the legalisation of online gambling in Bulgaria, with the founder of the Bulgarian Gaming Association (BTAMOGI) predicting that licences would be issued by July 2012. This was confirmed by the State Gambling Commission, which went as far as to publish legislation, but has since not provided any new information on whether the bill has come into force.

Under the terms of regulations operators were required to have a physical presence in the country, and at least five years’ experience of operating in the market, and a 15% tax on gross profit was halved after criticism from local and European operators.

The gambling act was ratified by the European Comission in March 2011, with the EC stating that the draft law “complies with European standards in this sphere and is consistent with the functioning of a common market.”

Earlier this year the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance appointed Ivan Enicherov as head of the Gambling Commission, replacing Kaloyan Krastev, who led the regulator for three years, in the role.

The list of blacklisted operators in full:

Bet365
GoldBet
Betin.com
Sportingbet
Morganbet.eu
BetUniq.eu
PlanetWin365
Unibet
Bet-at-home
Doxxbet.com
Efbet.com
GlobetCasino12.com
Ladbrokes
Betfair
Offsidebet
TempoBet
888
Betfred
JetBull
Bet7Days.com