site.btaParliament Rejects MECh Bill to Establish State Monopoly on Gambling

On Wednesday, Parliament rejected the gambling bill submitted by Hristo Rastashki of MECh and a group of MPs, with 58 votes in favor, 14 against, and 96 abstentions.

The bill aimed to limit and regulate gambling in Bulgaria by banning private operators and allowing the state to establish a monopoly through the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator.

MP Kliment Shopov of Vazrazhdane commented that gambling is a tumor in society and the only solution is a complete ban. He noted that the bill would still allow online gambling, and that addicts would end up “feeding the state budget” if the law were passed. However, he pointed out that a positive aspect of the bill is that it would provide state control. Shopov stated that the regulations proposed by MECh are better than the current system, and therefore Vazrazhdane would support the bill.

Hristo Rastashki of MECh said that the bill envisions concentrating all gambling under the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator, which would restrict gambling in Bulgaria. He emphasized that gambling would be under state control. According to Rastashki, the state could allow gambling to the extent that it supports sports and culture, but gambling activity could also be completely stopped, with no casinos in Bulgaria at all.

Branimir Balachev of GERB–UDF said that once again MECh are proposing a law that is unconstitutional. He quoted the Constitution, which specifies the areas in which a state monopoly can be established. Balachev also said that the law ensures equal legal conditions for economic activity for all citizens and legal entities. “For this reason, our entire group will vote against it,” said the GERB–UDF MP.

He added that gambling must either be completely banned, which would cause the state to lose EUR 200 million and give rise to illegal gambling, or it must be allowed because it generates significant revenue. “The gambling turnover comes from elsewhere, not from Bulgarian citizens,” Balachev noted. He also mentioned that in Varna, at least two flights with Iranians and Israelis arrive every week.

Alexander Simidchiev from Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria said that smoking, alcohol addiction, and gambling addiction can be considered as sources of revenue, but what is spent through the National Health Insurance Fund and from people’s personal pockets far exceeds the income generated for the budget. For this reason, there are countries that do not allow these activities on their territory, he added.

“The national betting operator must be strong, Bulgarian, and not privatized,” said MECh leader Radostin Vasilev. “This is not the best bill, but it shows an intention to limit gambling,” he noted.