Bulgaria has made revisions to its State Budget Act for 2024, resulting in changes in the gambling sector fees. The amendments, effective from January 1, 2024, introduce increases in state fees for both online and land-based Business-to-Consumer (B2C) operators.

The key changes are the following:

1. The one-off fixed component of the state fee for maintaining the license for online gambling was increased from 51 129.2 EUR to 204 516.8 EUR per license;
2. The one-off fixed component of the state fee for maintaining the license for land-based casinos was increased from 51 129.2 EUR to 153 387.6 EUR for the 5-years license and from 102 258.4 EUR to 306 775.2 EUR for the 10-years license, respectively.
3. The one-off fixed component of the state fee for maintaining the license for land-based gaming halls with 5 years duration was increased from 12 782.3 EUR (for gaming halls in cities with population of up to 25 564.6 EUR) and 25 564.6 EUR (for gaming halls in cities with population more than 500 000) to 38 346.9 EUR and 76 693.8 EUR respectively. In the same time the cost of the 10-years license has increased from 51 129.2 EUR to 76 693.8 EUR and respectively 153 387.6 EUR based on the population of the city.
4. Similar to the other types of gambling, a two-component state fee model was introduced regarding the maintenance fee for the licenses for land-based sports betting, lottery games, bingo, keno and betting on random events, as well. The newly introduced one-off fixed component was adopted in the amount of 153 387.6 EUR. Changes were also introduced in the monthly variable license maintenance state fee as well. The previous 15% over the total amount of bets was changed to 20% over the Gross Gaming Revenue (‘GGR’) which equalized the state fees between the online and the land-based segment.

Increased state fees apply not only to newly licensed operators but also to existing license holders. Existing operators are mandated to pay the adjusted fees proportionally, considering a specific formula based on the remaining term of their license.