BULGARIAN TRADE GROUP LABELS GAMBLING BILL A THREAT TO DOMESTIC INDUSTRY


Bulgarian gambling industry officials are unhappy with proposed changes in the country's gambling laws, calling them a threat to the domestic industry.

BULGARIAN TRADE GROUP LABELS GAMBLING BILL A THREAT TO DOMESTIC INDUSTRY

28 Nov, 2013

David Altaner, GamblingCompliance 

Bulgarian gambling industry officials are unhappy with proposed changes in the country's gambling laws, calling them a threat to the domestic industry.

The bill would lead to "uncontrolled and unlicensed entry of online operators", according to the Bulgarian Association of Manufacturers and Operators in the Gaming Industry (BTAMOGI) in an  open letter to the Bulgarian media.

The draft law also removes a provision calling for testing and licensing of manufacturers and importers of gambling equipment, a step which threatens domestic manufacturers, according to the trade group.

Removal of licensing requirements for importers and overseas manufacturers will lead to copying of equipment, and creates an
incentive for companies to locate factories outside Bulgaria, the group warned.

The bill removes a controversial 15 percent tax on turnover for online gambling which the online industry considers prohibitive. More than 150 companies are currently on a blacklist of unlicenced websites.

The draft bill would introduce a one-time fee of 100,000 Bulgarian lev (£42,700) and a 20 percent tax on gross gaming revenue, paid monthly.

If adopted, the bill would take effect on January 1, 2014. It passed the National Assembly's budget and finance committee on first reading last week.

BTAMOGI calls for a period of comment and public discussion prior to a legislative vote.

A provision for mandatory donations to non-profit groups would also enable contributions to groups with "unclear status and functions", BTAMOGI said.

The draft changes call for donations to groups specialising in gambling addiction treatment, implementation of responsible advertising and gambling dispute resolution.

Minimum annual contributions to non-profit groups would be 50,000 Bulgarian lev for online operators and 10,000 lev for land-based casino operators.

A member of parliament who introduced the changes, Jordan Conev, predicted 40 or more companies would apply for online licences.

Conev said online betting currently tops 1bn lev in Bulgaria, with most of it illegal.

Currently only one operator, Eurofootball Malta, has been licensed, with two other applications in the works.

Unlicensed online companies are eligible for fines ranging from 500,000 to 1m lev for an individual, and 1m to 2m lev for a company, under the draft changes.

Fines for illegal offline operators range from 50,000 to 200,000 lev for a company and 20,000 to 50,000 lev for an individual.

The new tax does not apply to land-based gambling machines or games at a casino, with those machines and games set for tax at a different rate.

The draft changes would prohibit betting from computers owned by state or municipal government, which might disappoint government bureaucrats looking to play online poker on their lunch breaks.

The bill would also allow gambling halls and casinos to be opened in three-star hotels, rather than solely in four- and five-star hotels.

The Bulgarian Treasury expects the current tax to raise 135m lev this year and, without changes in the law, it believes receipts would drop by 21.7m lev next year, according to an account in Mediapool.bg.