Bulgaria

Online sports betting is fully regulated: operators must hold an NRA licence, be incorporated in the EU/EEA/Switzerland, hold BGN 1.5M paid-up capital and renew every 5 years. Horse-race (and dog-race) betting is regulated under the identical Gambling Act licensing category. The regulator is the National Revenue Agency (NRA/НАП), which took over all licensing, supervision, tax collection and public registers from the dissolved State Gambling Commission in August 2020.

The minimum age is 18, though an ITN-party proposal to raise it to 21 was tabled in February 2026 and remains under debate (not enacted). Key 2025-2026 changes: the GGR tax increased from 20% to 25% effective 1 January 2026, and a broad gambling-advertising ban adopted at the beginning of 2024 — covering radio, television, print media and online platforms — is now in force, though a National Revenue Agency decision has since narrowed its practical reach, concluding that advertising on behalf of licensed gambling service providers on social-media platforms is not to be considered unlawful, and that the prohibition does not apply to gambling advertised through videos and podcasts on video-streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.

Prediction markets remain outside the licensed framework — Kalshi blocks Bulgaria and there is no EU/national event-contract regime — so they are treated conservatively as grey market.

Gambling laws in Bulgaria have had an interesting past few years. Various proposals have sought to ban gambling, allow licensing, increase taxes, decrease taxes and generally make a mess of the industry. The framework settled for a time, but change has resumed: a raft of rule changes has been put forward for public consultation by the Bulgarian government, including severe marketing restrictions and significant tax hikes.

Today, around 15 licensed operators are active in Bulgaria, including local brands like Efbet and Winbet alongside international names like Bet365 and Bwin. The country’s licensing system has proved much more attractive, drawing in both local and international operators. Let’s begin with a look at several that offer their services to Bulgarians.

Bulgaria Betting Sites

Due to these sites being licensed in Bulgaria, you’ll have no trouble making a deposit to play for real money. Since Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, you can deposit in euros and keep your entire account balance in euros for as long as you have money in your account. All you need to do to make a deposit is sign up for an account, log in and visit the cashier to see a full list of deposit methods.

Some of the most popular include credit cards, debit cards, Neteller, Skrill and ePay.bg. A Bulgarian-licensed site accepts deposits in euros, so you won’t have to worry about paying for currency exchanges when you deposit.

Bulgaria Gambling Laws

The first form of gambling to be legalized in Bulgaria in modern times was sports betting in 1993. At that time, gaming laws were largely undefined but the government did allow Eurofootball and the government-backed Toto brand to offer sports bets to citizens via local betting shops.

The question of Bulgarian betting sites wasn't addressed until 2008. The first few iterations of the nation’s internet gaming laws had trouble sticking as they were poorly written and implemented. Bulgaria’s first attempt at a licensing system was a failure due to onerous taxes and fees associated with obtaining an internet license.

At one point, Bulgaria implemented a tax of 15% on betting turnover which was completely ridiculous. Not a gaming site in the world could have taken on a tax like that and survived without help from the government. From 2008 through 2012, international betting sites simply accepted Bulgarians without the proper licensing.

The government began an internet censorship program in 2012 to block citizens’ access to unlicensed betting sites. It began with a list of about a dozen blocked sites and quickly ballooned from there to eventually include hundreds of betting sites by the end of 2013. Presumably, officials hoped a blacklist would persuade offshore gaming companies to incorporate in Bulgaria, get the proper licensing, cough up the licensing fees and pay their taxes.

This did not happen. Most sites simply accepted the blacklist and paid no attention to the Bulgarian market. Others withdraw from the market completely and blocked registrations from Bulgaria. Bulgarian lawmakers, the general public and the EU were all unhappy with the situation for different reasons.

The general public was sick of constantly-changing gambling laws and having no access to the sites that people really wanted. Lawmakers were frustrated by the industry’s complete lack of interest in paying out the nose for licenses. And finally, EU lawmakers felt Bulgaria’s gaming laws were counter to EU fair trade treaties.

Amendments were made to the Gambling Act in 2013 and implemented in 2014. The new amendments implemented much-needed changes in the licensing and taxation system. They simplified the licensing process, changed the taxes to 20% on gross profits and updated the licensing fee to 100,000 levs. Additionally, licensed online betting operators must make annual payments of BGN 50,000 (EUR 25,000) towards socially responsible causes, including the promotion of healthy gambling habits.

Almost immediately, international betting brands warmed to the Bulgarian market. The licensing system introduced then has since matured: around 15 licensed operators remain active in the Bulgarian market, including local players such as Efbet, Winbet and Palmsbet alongside international brands such as Bet365 and Bwin. Some of these licensees were once blacklisted but now operate with the blessing of the state.

Bulgaria isn’t particularly unique in this regard. We’ve seen it happen time and time again. Lawmakers see something new and immediately tax it to death. Some governments never learn, so we ought to commend Bulgarian lawmakers for relenting and taking a more pragmatic approach to online betting. The outlook is less settled than it was: one of the measures now in public consultation amounts to a total ban on gambling advertising in the country.

Bulgaria’s real-world and online gaming laws are enforced by the National Revenue Agency (NRA), which took over from the State Commission on Gambling in August 2020. The agency’s other functions include inspecting compliance with the law and making sure all operators, gaming equipment producers, and gaming maintenance people comply with the Gambling Act.

Bulgaria allows foreign companies to apply for an online gambling license as long as those companies are located in the European Union, European Economic Area or Switzerland. Operators seeking a license must demonstrate to authorities that they have adequate cash on hand to pay players and that none of the majority shareholders have been convicted of a crime.

Licensed Bulgarian gambling sites are also required to host their servers on Bulgarian territory (although those servers may be operated and maintained from a distance). These servers must also provide real-time data to the National Revenue Agency for the purposes of paying taxes. The National Revenue Agency also inspects the computer systems that will be used by a betting site to ensure the licensee is able to comply with all technical and regulatory requirements.