An online gambling business targeting Bulgaria needs a licence under the Gambling Act. This guide explains eligible operators, separate game licences, technical systems, NRA reporting and responsible gambling.
Vassilev & Chisuse Law Firm · 2026-10-12 · Legal review: 12 October 2026
Online gambling accessible from Bulgaria can be organised only under a licence issued under the Bulgarian Gambling Act. The National Revenue Agency administers gambling licensing and supervision, and a separate licence is required for each type of gambling game that the operator intends to organise.
The licensing project is not limited to the corporate applicant. It also covers the game type, ownership and management, the central computer system and control server, software registration, player registration and identification, payment arrangements, reporting to the National Revenue Agency, responsible gambling and other ongoing compliance obligations.
A licence for online betting may be issued to a commercial company registered in Bulgaria, another Member State of the European Union, another state party to the European Economic Area Agreement or Switzerland. The Bulgarian Gambling Act also provides for gambling activities organised by the state in the cases specified by law.
Where the operator is a foreign company established in another eligible state, it must have an authorised representative with an address in Bulgaria and representative powers sufficient to enter into contracts on behalf of the foreign entity and represent it before Bulgarian authorities and courts. The representative may not be a commercial representative within the meaning of the relevant provisions of the Bulgarian Commerce Act.
No. A licence authorises only the gambling game or activity expressly stated in it. The National Revenue Agency therefore states that a separate licence is required for each type of gambling game.
Bulgarian law recognises several categories of games, including certain lottery games, betting on sporting events and horse or dog races, betting on random events or knowledge of facts, slot-machine games and casino games. With the statutory exceptions, those games may also be organised online through the internet or other electronic communications means.
The correct classification of the proposed product should therefore be determined before the application is prepared. A platform that combines several game categories may need more than one licence.
The National Revenue Agency's current guidance lists several specific conditions for an online gambling licence. The applicant must not have been subject to specified compulsory administrative measures under the Gambling Act during the five years preceding the licence application.
The communication equipment and the central location of the operator's central computer system must be situated in Bulgaria, another EU Member State, an EEA state or Switzerland. The operator must also maintain an account for receiving stakes and paying winnings with a bank licensed in one of the permitted jurisdictions.
These conditions form part of a broader licensing assessment. The exact financial, technical, organisational and game-specific requirements should be checked against the current Gambling Act and secondary legislation for the proposed licence.
The operator's central computer system must include systems for registering and identifying players and for storing and transmitting information to the National Revenue Agency. The system must transmit in real time information concerning simultaneous gaming sessions, each player's stakes and winnings, and must provide online registration of each transaction in the National Revenue Agency's system.
The central computer system, local control server, communication equipment, gaming software and each new software version must also be entered in the relevant register maintained by the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology under the Gambling Act.
The National Revenue Agency has published a methodology for testing the functionality of systems and local servers used by online betting organisers. Technology architecture should therefore be treated as part of the regulatory application rather than as a separate implementation project after licensing.
Online gambling operators must maintain a system for registration and identification of participants in accordance with the Gambling Act and the applicable ordinance governing registration, identification, data retention and reporting to the National Revenue Agency.
The customer journey should therefore be designed together with legal and technical controls. Identity checks, account creation, payment flows, restrictions on participation and record-keeping must be capable of operating consistently with the licensed gaming system and with the operator's anti-money laundering obligations.
The online gambling system must support real-time reporting to the National Revenue Agency's server in accordance with the statutory and technical requirements. The National Revenue Agency's current guidance specifically refers to simultaneous gaming sessions, stakes, winnings and online registration of each transaction.
Reporting should not be treated as a manual compliance task. The required data flows need to be built into the system architecture, tested before launch and maintained when software is changed or upgraded.
Online gambling organisers must display clearly on their websites a warning about the risk of gambling addiction and information about available counselling and therapy for gambling addiction. These duties form part of the responsible-gambling requirements under Article 10b of the Gambling Act.
Responsible-gambling compliance is broader than a footer notice. Account controls, player communications, internal procedures and the handling of persons subject to statutory restrictions should be reviewed as part of the operating model.
A licensed gambling operator must also assess and comply with the applicable Bulgarian anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements. The risk framework should reflect remote customer relationships, payment methods, transaction patterns, high-risk jurisdictions and the types of games offered.
The licensing documents and the anti-money laundering framework should describe compatible customer and payment flows. An operator should avoid designing a technically efficient onboarding and payment model that cannot support the legal identification, monitoring and reporting duties applicable to the business.
A gambling licence does not remove the advertising restrictions in the Bulgarian Gambling Act. Bulgaria has a restrictive regime for gambling advertising across television, radio, electronic media, websites and public spaces, subject to specific statutory exceptions and permitted formats.
Operators should therefore separate the question of whether a game may lawfully be organised from the question of how it may be promoted. See VC Law's separate guide to gambling advertising in Bulgaria for the advertising rules.
The National Revenue Agency identifies websites through which gambling is organised without a valid Bulgarian licence. The Gambling Act provides a mechanism under which access to identified unlicensed websites can be suspended by court order.
For an international operator, geolocation and market-access controls therefore need to be considered before making a website or mobile application available to users in Bulgaria. A licence obtained in another jurisdiction does not by itself authorise online gambling in the Bulgarian market.
The project should begin with classification of each proposed game and confirmation of the applicant structure. The operator should then map ownership and management, technical infrastructure, bank accounts, gaming software, player-registration procedures, reporting architecture, internal controls, responsible-gambling measures and anti-money laundering arrangements.
Application documents should correspond to the system that will actually be operated. Material changes to software, infrastructure or the licensed activity may trigger additional approval, registration or notification requirements, so change-management procedures are important after launch as well.
Vassilev & Chisuse Law Firm advises gambling businesses on Bulgarian licensing, game classification, corporate and ownership requirements, application documentation, technology and supplier arrangements, anti-money laundering, responsible gambling and advertising restrictions.
For related matters, see our Gambling and Gaming practice and our article on gambling advertising restrictions in Bulgaria.
This article reflects the Bulgarian gambling framework reviewed as of 12 October 2026 and is provided for general information only. It does not constitute individual legal advice. Licensing requirements depend on the specific game, applicant, ownership, technology, payment model and other facts, and the current Gambling Act, secondary legislation and National Revenue Agency guidance should be checked for each application.