site.btaPowerholders' Idea on Sports Totalizator Concession Slammed by Opposition

An idea of the pro-government parliamentary majority on the award of a concession for the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator (BST) has provoked a strong reaction from the opposition.

At a news briefing here on Tuesday, Ivaylo Mirchev MP of the opposition Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria described the idea as "exceedingly unacceptable".

Sponsors: State-Owned Operator Fails to Cash In on Monopoly Position

He reacted to an amendment to the Gambling Act, moved on Monday by three MPs: Kostadin Angelov of GERB-UDF, Dragomir Stoynev of BSP - United Left, and Jordan Tzonev of MRF - New Beginning. According to the draft revision, which is included in the Transitional and Final Provisions of the 2026 State Budget Bill, the Minister of Youth and Sport has until March 31, 2026 to make public a call for expressions of interest in the submission of investment proposals by interested economic operators for an award of a concession for the operation of the BST for a period of not less than 15 years. The draft amendment has been published on the National Assembly website.

"An analysis of the games of chance market and the revenue from taxes and fees paid by gambling operators shows that despite its monopoly position in the lottery games market segment, the State-owned enterprise is not a leading gambling operator," the sponsors of the draft legislation reason. "Although it is the only lottery games operator, the revenues from the State-owned enterprise are substantially smaller than the revenues from private gambling operators before the 2020 amendments," the reasons read, referring to the revisions under which BST acquired its dominant position.

"The analysis invites the conclusion that BST alone is unable to achieve an increase of revenues and a market share adequate to its exclusive market position," according to the movers. They argue that against the background of stiffened competition and active market entry of online betting into Bulgaria, the State-owned enterprise lacks know-how, market experience and financial resources. As a result, it is unable to achieve its set objectives, including the attraction of more betters to forms of gambling of a lower social risk and to ensure the funds needed for the development of sports in Bulgaria.

A gambling concession is successfully practised in Greece, Italy and Malta, and a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union supports the model of a single gambling concessionaire, the MPs point out.

Opposition: Power-holders Wage War on Middle Class, Business  

"At the last possible moment, the Magnitsky coalition decided to surprise the entire Bulgarian public by a shocking proposal coming directly from the person experienced in BST: Delyan Peevski, and namely, a concession for the Toto," Mirchev commented. He sees this as an "exceedingly unacceptable idea" because the Toto is a market monopolist in Bulgaria. Awarding it to a private operator merely implies a relapse to the time when gambling made headline news. Instead of combating and restricting gambling, just the opposite is being done, and this is the icing on the cake of the new budget that has declared war on the middle class in this country," the MP explained. "An operator for the Toto has apparently been picked and only remains to be named," Mirchev commented.

"Obviously, the retail sales management software [mandatorily approved by the National Revenue Agency] that has declared war on business is not enough. Add to this the [doubled rate of] dividend tax and the [2 percentage point] increase in retirement insurance contributions, and you see a real war against the middle class, against the business community," the opposition lawmaker argued. "We will not back this budget. We have tabled a large package of right-wing motions to counter the insane proposals of the ruling coalition," Mirchev said. He called on all members of the public, the middle class and business people to rally at a protest in front of the National Assembly on Wednesday."

BST is a State-owned enterprise that operates several versions of gambling: Toto 1 (a football pool with betting on the scores of matches at home and abroad), Toto 2 (a numbers lottery in which betters try to match 6 out of 49, 6 out of 42 or 5 out of 35 numbers on paper or online coupons, the winning numbers being determined by a draw), and scratch cards.

Toto is the most popular form of gambling, since the bets are affordable, although the chances of winning are slim. Half of the Toto revenues goes for the maintenance and construction of sports facilities, and the other half is distributed among the winners.

In 2023, of the BGN 394 million earned by BST, BGN 206 million were paid out in winnings, BGN 59 million were remitted in gambling fees, and nearly BGN 50 million went to the Ministry of Youth and Sports.  

Peevski's mother, Irena Krasteva, headed the BST between March 2002 and 2005.

By "Magnitsky coalition", Mirchev apparently means two parties represented in Bulgaria's legislature: the cabinet-forming-mandate-holder GERB and the government-backing MRF-New Beginning, as former GERB finance minister Vladislav Goranov and MRF-New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski were designated by the United States under the Global Magnitsky Act in 2021 for alleged corruption.