Gambling in Bulgaria in a State of Mayhem

A busy street in Sofia, Bulgarian capital. Bystanders and shoppers busy with their own businesses. A normal day waiting for a spring to come. Suddenly, six shots fired at a man. Taken to a hospital, the men dies.

As the police investigation uncovered, the 40-year-old victim has been allegedly involved in activities related to illegal bets on sports in Bulgaria as well as underground casino gambling. Exactly what has happened is not clear, but one thing is known: Bulgarian gambling is an uncharted territory.

Even despite recent legalization of gambling under Bulgarian gambling laws, many illicit wagering operations continue to plague Bulgarian landscape. Years of prohibition, frequent and often ridiculous changes in regulations, as well as taxation, have led to mushrooming gambling market controlled by the criminal elements, often organized crime associations.

As rumored, even innocently looking arcade games, which occupy many locations, are owned by criminal gangs and any attempts to enter that market may result in bodily harm or death.

Many local casino entrepreneurs seek to create additional revenues by attracting players to offshore casinos and with the proliferation of mobile casino gambling, it is harder for the law enforcement to catch on.

Due to the upcoming football European Championships and Summer Olympics in London, the illegal betting is bound to grow. We’ll yet to see how many victims these illicit activities will produce.

Those lucky enough to have legitimate sports betting available to them freely, can enjoy the benefits, reliability, and wide overage offered by some of the greatest sportsbooks there are such as Bet365, Unibet, Betway, Ladbrokes, and many others.