Bulgaria’s Council of Ministers has approved a draft law that would ban gambling advertising across all media and raise operator fees. The bill was sent to parliament on 11 November 2026 and is not yet law.
The government approved the draft on 11 November 2026 as Decision No. 855 of the Council of Ministers, which endorses a bill amending and supplementing the Gambling Act. The decision is published on the government’s strategy portal and is dated both for issuance and publication on 11 November. Bulgarian National Radio and a Council of Ministers session bulletin described the same package the same day. The bill has been introduced in the National Assembly and still has to be examined by parliamentary committees and by members of parliament.
This is a government proposal, not an in-force ban. Until parliament adopts a final text, and until any adopted text takes effect, the current advertising and fee rules continue to apply.
A full advertising ban, with limited sponsorship exceptions
The official session bulletin says the amendments would introduce a “full ban on the advertising of gambling games, of their organisers and of the distinctive signs associated with them”. The stated aim is to strengthen prevention of the development or deepening of addiction, and to have a positive effect on the most vulnerable groups.
Limited brand presence would still be allowed in two cases:
- sponsorship of sports clubs, federations, associations and organisations;
- support for activities in culture, healthcare and education.
The same bulletin says restrictions would apply to how sponsored events are shown on television and online, so that a sponsorship exception does not become a back door to ordinary advertising.
The draft would also end the activity of affiliate operators that promote gambling games through partner programmes. The government said this is intended to keep the advertising ban consistent with the rules that apply to third parties who publicise gambling.
Higher taxes and fees, with a new online levy from 2028
The package is not only about advertising. The bulletin says the alternative corporate tax under the Corporate Income Tax Act would rise in 2027 for land-based casinos and gaming halls. From 2028, that tax would be removed from the corporate-tax law and replaced by a two-part state fee in the Gambling Act. For online betting, “a minimum of 100,000 euros a month would be the variable part” of that two-part state fee for issuing and maintaining a licence.
The draft would also introduce a one-off state fee for licences to manufacture, distribute, service and import gaming equipment. The official bulletin sets that fee at 50,000 euros for a five-year licence and 100,000 euros for a 10-year licence.
It also says one-off fees for maintaining licences to organise gambling games would rise, as would contributions for socially responsible conduct and fines and financial penalties. The bulletin does not, in the published summary, list every new licence-fee amount. Some of those figures have been reported by Bulgarian news agencies from the same government sitting; where a figure is not in the official bulletin, it is not repeated here.
Closer financial controls and school-based prevention
Foreign legal entities that organise online betting would have to have a place of business in Bulgaria. The official summary says this is meant to make it easier to follow financial flows and to spot mismatches between declared activity, stakes, winnings, income, costs and corporate tax due.
Banks, payment institutions and electronic-money firms that carry out payment operations linked to participation in gambling games and the payment of winnings would face a mandatory monetary contribution. The official bulletin confirms that such a contribution would be introduced; it does not, in the published summary, state the rate.
The draft also provides for wider prevention work in the education system, including information campaigns, prevention programmes and suitable teaching materials.
Who is affected
For licensed operators in Bulgaria, the immediate effect is political rather than legal: the cabinet has now formally backed a tougher package and put it in front of parliament. If the bill passes in a similar form, operators would face a near-total advertising ban, the loss of affiliate marketing, higher fees, and, for online betting, a large monthly minimum as the variable part of a new state fee from 2028. Foreign online operators would need a local place of business.
For sports clubs and other organisations that now depend on gambling sponsorship, the draft would not ban those deals outright, but it would limit how brands can appear, including in broadcasts. For the public, and especially for children and other groups the government describes as vulnerable, the stated purpose is to reduce exposure to gambling advertising.
The move sits in a wider European debate about how tightly gambling can be promoted. Spain has already tightened deposit and payment rules, as we reported in our story on Spain’s deposit limits and payment checks. Chile’s Senate economy committee has separately backed an online betting ban rather than a licensing plan, as covered in our report on that vote. In Great Britain, advertising remains lawful for licensed operators, but product rules and taxes have been tightened under the 2025-26 gambling reforms.
What happens next
The bill now goes through the National Assembly. Committees can amend it, and parliament can reject it, as it has done with earlier, related proposals. Even if a text is adopted, the advertising ban, the 2027 tax change and the 2028 fee system would take effect only on the dates set in the final law. Until then, the Council of Ministers’ decision of 11 November should be read as a draft policy, not as a ban already in force.
Gambling is for adults aged 18 and over. Anyone worried about their own or someone else’s gambling should use official national support services.
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