Bulgaria Blocks Gambling Sites, But Will Allow Them Back

January 3, 2014

You have to wonder whether recent actions by the government in Bulgaria are going to serve as a model of sorts for other countries in dealing with their citizens who enjoy online gambling and cross international lines (virtually speaking) to do it.

In the latter part of 2013, the government blocked access to 172 online gambling websites, and action that was ordered by the State Commission on Gambling. It's not that the Bulgarian government has anything against gambling, necessarily. They just want to get a bigger piece of the action. Amendments to the Gambling Act have recently been enacted, and they are not designed to keep online gambling operators out of the country, but rather to bring them in, through illegal licensing process.

As we speak, the gambling websites that have been blocked are going to have an opportunity to come back and become licensed, in exchange for a charge of 250,000 DGN, along with the 20% fee on the net profits. So it's not a moral stand; it's a financial stand.

Of course you can't begrudge a government from trying to generate revenues; this happens all the time, as citizens of Canada and the United States fully recognize. But is this the kind of thing that could eventually happen in a country like Canada? Think about it for moment; the government actually has interests in online gambling, and they are competing with private companies who are offering the same product – and often something that is superior – to citizens, and they are not paying any Canadian taxes at all. Is it out of line for the government to be asking for those gaming operators to become licensed, and to pay a "tribute" to the government?

Naturally, if that were to become the case, what would happen in Canada is the same thing as what will ultimately happen in Bulgaria, which is that the choices for customers will be reduced. After all, not everyone is going to become licensed, and some of the more industrious operators are going to figure a way around the block.