Bulgaria’s regulator today blacklisted 20 more online gambling websites it claims are actively targeting Bulgarian players without a local licence.
High-profile new additions included Expekt, Stan James, Boylesports (six domains), as well as Asian operators SBOBet, 188Bet and Dafabet, taking the total number of individual domains on the Bulgaria State Gambling Commission’s hit list to 96.
Under amendments to the country’s Gambling Act which came into force in July last year, the companies are “presumed notified on the day of publication” of the BGC’s decision. According to the letter of the law, they now have three days to voluntarily block access to Bulgarian players or be subject to a court order compelling local ISPs to suspend access, with these service providers being obligated to do so within 24 hours of the court order being published on the Commission’s website.
All of Europe’s leading operators now have websites on the Gambling Commission’s blacklist, including PokerStars, William Hill, PartyPoker, Bet365, 888, Betfair, Ladbrokes, Betfred, Sportingbet, Bet-At-Home and Unibet.
Operators have been described by the local press as being placed in a Catch 22 situation by the Bulgarian authorities – willing but unable to apply for licences due to the necessary regulations not yet being in place, and also facing a non-viable tax regime of 15% of stakes.
Local newspaper Capital Daily has also accused the first blacklist of sports websites of “accidentally” containing the main competitors to local incumbent vBulletin. Linked to controversial local casino billionaire Vasil Bozhkov, VBulletin holds two of three licences for sports betting in Bulgaria, offered online via Eurobet.bg and Eurofootball.bg.
Article written by Stephen Carter
