Official language: Bulgarian
Population: 7,640,238
Currency: Lev (BGN)

Current Exchange Rate
1 EUR = 1.9540 BGN
1 GBP = 2.0872 BGN
1 USD = 1.3199 BGN

Poker in Bulgaria
Like throughout much of central and eastern Europe, Bulgaria has only recently caught the poker bug. However, the popularity of poker in Bulgaria is still limited to a very small category of players. This is mostly due to the lack of places to play. Table games in Bulgaria are only allowed in licensed gambling halls and casinos. Because table games are taxed double (once for the table, and then again for profits), local gambling halls often can't afford to have more than a few tables, and poker is often left out. This leaves the large casinos, which all have poker tables or even poker rooms, but these cater to Turkish and Israeli tourists, and are located in large hotels.

Despite this, a small and growing poker crowd exists in Bulgaria. PokerTek has recognized this trend, and is currently working to install more poker tables throughout the country. Eleven players from Bulgaria joined last year's WSOP, so the popularity of the game is clearly increasing. Furthermore, a number of recent tournaments are bringing poker into the limelight, and this increased publicity boosts interest in the game.

Online Poker in Bulgaria
Bulgarian poker tournaments are typically connected to online poker in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Poker Open that is held every year in Varna is connected to 4Kings, a European online poker site where global qualifier tournaments are held, providing winners with accommodation and the €500 buy-in. Similarly, the BetFair poker site is connected to the Balkan Poker News Challenge Grand Hotel Casino International, located at the Golden Sands Resort on the Black Sea. BetFair runs online qualifiers for this tournament, bringing in players from all over.

While there are still not many Bulgarian poker sites online, there is clearly a high level of participation between international poker rooms, Bulgarian poker players, and Bulgarian casinos. Other poker sites online, like bWin, offer a fully localized poker site in the Bulgarian language. Once Bulgaria loosens its restrictions on online gambling, more sites are sure to emerge in the future.