The Bulgarian government decided to regulate online gambling. The new regulatory regime will become effective after the regulations are approved by the Sofia Regional Court and after the finalization of the regulations by the state Gambling Commission. After that unlicensed operators will be banned. During the second reading of the bill was decided to compose a black list of local and foreign online gambling operators that are supposed to be excluded. Internet service providers will be instructed to block access to unlicensed operators in the black list.

There will also be advertising restrictions for licensed operators. These restrictions will presumably add €50 million per year to the state’s budget. But not everybody likes the idea of online gambling regulation: Internet activists protest against the blocking of unlicensed online gambling sites. They demand of the President to veto the Gambling Act. Activists also wrote an open letter to the new Bulgarian President asking for a full-fledged discussion on other methods that don’t violate citizens’ rights. In fact, activists stand against any censorship of the Internet.

March 20, 2012