Bulgaria gambling losses reach nearly 1 billion euros annually

The gambling sector in Bulgaria has experienced unprecedented growth over the last decade, with online betting now dominating the market. Online gambling turnover in the country rose from 44 billion levs in 2023 to approximately 67 billion levs in 2025. Operators' net revenues exceed 1.6 billion levs annually, while Bulgarian citizens are estimated to lose nearly 1 billion euros per year to casinos and betting sites.

Individual impact is significant, with the average revenue generated per user reaching nearly 500 euros annually, a figure that exceeds the global average. The scale of addiction is reflected in the National Revenue Agency’s Register of Vulnerable Persons, which included approximately 43,000 individuals who voluntarily requested to be banned from gambling by early 2025. Since the register's renewal in December 2022, over 53,000 Bulgarians have utilized the service.

Legislative changes in 2024 have raised concerns regarding addiction management. The period during which a person can request to be removed from the exclusion register was reduced from two years to just 30 days. Consequently, between May 2024 and early 2025, over 10,000 people were removed from the list, regaining access to gambling services. While the parliament passed measures in May 2024 to ban gambling advertisements in mass media and restrict billboards near schools, operators have shifted marketing strategies to navigate these regulations.