Gambling Industry in Bulgaria Wants to Be Treated Like Tourism

The recent history of the gambling industry in Bulgaria is no less surprising than your average roller coaster. Prior to 1993 it was completely illegal yet accompanied by a monstrous underground gambling operation. 

The government knew that there was obviously a very high demand for gambling facilities and it decided to take advantage of the situation. Bulgarian gambling laws made a complete turnaround and licenses were distributed liberally. 

After realizing how much potential tax money was flying out the window, the government decided to legalize online gambling as well. Internet gambling in Bulgaria has been legal since 2008 and taxes online casinos a flat rate of 10% to operate. 

Despite the fact that the government charges such a high rate for licensing and makes a fortune on taxes that the EU is still pestering them about, both on and offline gambling institutions get a pretty solid amount of patrons. 

Convinced that they could be bringing more people in, the Bulgarian gambling industry is trying to increase its marketing awareness as a tourist hotspot. The Bulgarian Gaming Industry Manufacturers and Operators Trade Association have allegedly pushed for a draft on a long-term development plan for the industry. 

Gambling tourism does exist, but it’s not yet popular in Bulgaria. Industry leaders claim that they have great opportunities to attract patrons from Turkey, where online gambling is outlawed, but there’s a long way to go before even this traffic picks up. 

When asked the tourism minister, Ivo Marinov, claimed that he had not heard of any such plans and that neither he, nor his men were going to shed much concentration on the matter. Online casinos in Bulgaria are getting increasingly more traffic, but this seems to be the only difference in traffic that we can expect to see in the near future.