Online gambling

Approval of the functionality of gambling operators’ systems for automated submission of information to an NRA server

By order Z-CU-1008/06.04.2021 of the Director General of NRA, a methodology was approved for testing the functionality of the central computer systems and the control local servers of online betting organizers (operators) pursuant to Ordinance on the order and procedure for registration and identification of participants, storage of data on organised online betting on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, and submission of information on gambling to a server of NRA (BG).

A license to organise online betting may be issued:

To a person – a commercial company registered in the Republic of Bulgaria or in another Member State (MS) of the European Union (EU), in another country – party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), or in the Swiss Confederation (Article 4(1)(1) of the Gambling Act);
To the State (Article 13a of the Gambling Act)

Specific requirements for issuing a licence for online betting

They are governed by Article 6 of the Gambling Act. A licence for online betting shall be issued under the following conditions:

No administrative enforcement measures have been implemented under the Gambling Act for a period of 5 years before the date of submission of the licence application.
The communication equipment and the central premises where the organiser’s central computer system (CCS) is located, shall be placed on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria or on the territory of another Member State (MS) of the European Union (EU), on the territory of another state - party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), or on the territory of the Swiss Confederation.
An open account for deposition of bets and payments of profit in a bank, licensed in the Republic of Bulgaria or in another EU Member State, a state - party on the EEA Agreement, or the Swiss Confederation.
The organiser’s central computer system (CCS) shall have a system for registration an identification of the participants in the games, as well as a system for storage and real-time transmitting to an NRA server of information for simultaneous game sessions, the bet made by each participant, and the profit paid to each participant. The central computer system shall obligatorily provide online registration of each transaction in NRA’s system.
The central computer system, the control local server, the communication equipment and the gaming software, as well as each new version of the software, shall be entered in the register under Art. 20, Para. 2 – registers maintained by the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology.
Available authorized representative of the commercial company – organizer of games of chance (gambling operator) where the company is registered in another EU Member State, a state - party on the EEA Agreement, or the Swiss Confederation; with an address on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and with a representative power with a scope, allowing them to conclude contracts on behalf of the foreign person and to represent them before the state authorities and the courts of the Republic of Bulgaria. The authorized representative shall not be a commercial representative within the meaning of Chapter Six, Section II of the Commerce Act.

Types of games of chance, for which a licence is issued under the Gambling Act:

lottery games: traditional lottery, instant lottery, raffle, numerical lottery game (toto, lotto, bingo, keno and their varieties);
games with betting on results of sports competitions and horse and dog racing;
games with betting on random events and betting related to knowledge of facts;
games with slot machines;
games in a gaming casino.

The manner, technical means and electronic means of communication or services through which a game of chance is organised and offered do not change the type of game (Article 41(1) of the Gambling Act).
The above listed games of chance, with the exception of raffle and instant lottery games, may also be organised online, either directly via internet or by other electronic means of communication: mobile and fixed apparatus, radio, television, satellites and other means (Article 41(2) of the Gambling Act).
The licence gives the right to organise only the game expressly specified therein (Article 3(3) of the Gambling Act), i.e. a separate licence is required for each type of game of chance.
List of websites through which games of chance are organised by persons who have obtained a license under the Gambling Act (BG)

Responsible Betting

In order to prevent the occurrence of gambling addiction (problem gambling) and to solve the problems related to gambling addiction, the organisers of games of chance are obliged to place in a prominent place on their websites:

notification of the risk of gambling addiction (problem gambling);
information on opportunities for counselling and therapy of gambling addiction (problem gambling) (Article 10b of the Gambling Act).

See: Responsible Gambling

Online betting organisers (operators) without a valid license

Pursuant to Article 17(2) of the Gambling Act, NRA identifies websites through which games of chance are organised by persons who do not have a valid licence under the law. Here is a list of these websites:

List of websites through which gambling is organised by persons who do not hold a license under the Gambling Act (BG)

In case you have access to a website from that list and you have the opportunity to participate in online betting through this website, this means that your internet provider has not complied with a court order to suspend access to the site pursuant to Article 17(6) of the Gambling Act, for which the operator shall be subject to a penalty.
If you find yourself in such a situation, you should immediately notify NRA and indicate the website and your internet provider. You can submit information at the following email address: infocenter@nra.bg.

Methodology for testing the functionality of central computer systems and control local servers of online betting organisers pursuant to the Ordinance on the order and procedure for identification and registration of the participants, the storage of data on organised online betting on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, and the submission of information on games of chance to an NRA server (BG)