As if not to be overshadowed by their Greek counterpart, Bulgaria’s regulator today blacklisted 10 more online gambling websites it claims are actively targeting Bulgarian players without a local licence.
BetVictor’s dot.com domain was the highest-profile new addition, along with six Net Entertainment-powered online casinos, the names of which all appear on Betsson’s website for its Affiliate Lounge programme – Nordicbet, Casinoeuro, Starcasino, Triobet and Maxino.com.
Under amendments to the country’s Gambling Act which came into force in July 2012, operators are “presumed notified on the day of publication” of the Bulgarian State Gambling Commission’s decision. The companies now have three days to voluntarily block access to Bulgarian players or be subject to a court order compelling local ISPs to suspend access 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 also accused the BGC’s first blacklist mainly consisting of sports betting 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
