Over the past four years, Bulgaria’s gambling sector has seen significant changes. After the suspension of Vasily Bozhkov’s companies 4 years ago, which were the largest players at the time, the online gaming market opened up, and now 22 companies hold licences – 16 more than in 2020.

This year, new local and international players are entering the Bulgarian market. For instance, bet365 has partnered with EGT Digital to introduce Bulgarian players to products from providers such as Amusnet, Playson, CT Interactive, Wazdan, and 7777 Gaming.

Gaming business is valued at €561 million

Bulgarian online gambling is a business valued at BGN 1.1 billion (€561 million), according to Kapital. This valuation is based on taxes paid on gambling activity over the past year and reflects betting revenue minus winnings paid to players. Last year, the sector’s growth slowed down to just under 12 percent.

According to industry representatives, online casinos make up the largest segment with a two-thirds share, while sports betting accounts for 30-35 percent. At least a million people in Bulgaria gamble online, and despite the expectation of a male-dominated audience, around 40 percent of bets are placed by women, a sector spokesperson reports.

Market leaders shift

In 2023, the ranking of top leaders in the Bulgarian gambling market changed, the local media reports. In the casino segment, Winbet, associated with Walter Papazki, overtook Efbet, owned by the Naydenov brothers, Boyan and Tsvetomir, which dropped to second place.

The top five also include Palmsbet, tied to Milo Borisov and publicly traded by Telematic Interactive Bulgaria, as well as Top Bet, operating under the 8888.bg brand. Notably, a year ago, Top Bet experienced a change in ownership, with 60 percent of the shares acquired by Dencho Ganev, father of Dimitar and Milen Ganev, who were partners in the lottery business of Vasil Bozhkov, the former unofficial market monopoly.

Currently, the most visited gambling sites in Bulgaria are ranked as follows:

Growth forecast for Bulgaria’s online gambling

Bulgaria’s online gambling market revenues are projected to reach €136.6 million by 2024. The annual growth rate is expected to be 5.42 percent, leading to a market size of €168.7 million by 2028. The online sports betting market is forecasted to reach €60.81 million in 2024.

This year, the average revenue per online gambling user in Bulgaria will be €411 per year. User penetration in 2024 is estimated at 4.9 percent, with the number of users in the online gambling market reaching 377,300 by 2028, according to Statista.

Advertising opportunities in online gambling

In April 2024, the Bulgarian parliament passed amendments to the Gambling Law, which took effect on May 18, 2024. These changes imposed strict restrictions on gambling advertising, particularly on websites. For more details, refer to the SiGMA News article “Bulgaria’s overhaul of gambling regulations”.

According to the National Tax Agency (NRA), the ban on gambling ads applies only to online media. The NRA’s position is that social networks are not classified as electronic media, so the ban does not apply to them. Furthermore, the NRA notes that online media may post links to content from licensed gambling operators on platforms like YouTube, as long as the link itself is not a gambling ad and users are informed that they will be redirected to social media profiles containing gambling-related content.