NetEnt Enters Bulgaria’s Regulated Casino Market

One of world’s leading providers for the online gaming industry, Net Entertainment has entered the Bulgarian online casino market, becoming the first major gaming company to do so.

The Swedish developer has established a cooperation with the National Lottery Bulgaria, making sure their impressive library of casino games will be available to the Bulgarian National Lottery customers.

The state owned operator has been dominating the land-based market for quite some time now, with scratch cards the most popular form of entertainment for the country residents.

Having seen the government lower taxes on gambling revenue, the Bulgarian National Lottery has decided to launch an online casino and they did well to partner with Net Entertainment, arguably the number one player in the highly competitive market.

History of Gambling in Bulgaria

Gambling in Bulgaria was first legalised in 1993, but it was some five years late that the State Commission for Gambling began to issue licenses to gaming operators in the country.

When it comes to online gambling laws, Bulgarian residents were able to bet online since 2008, although the first legal framework became effective in 2012.

This saw a 15% tax introduced on total turnover for licensed operators, whereas illicit gaming companies were blacklisted and blocked by internet providers.

After the gaming companies refused to enter the Bulgarian market due to high taxes, the gambling law was amended in 2013, requiring operators to pay a licensing fee of €50,000 as well as 20% tax on gross gaming revenue.

The Bulgarian State Commission for Gambling has so far only issued several licenses to foreign operators, including eCasino and Betfair, but the market is slowly growing and we can expect more activity in the coming years.