The Bulgarian National Assembly MPs agreed at the second reading to ban the advertising of gambling in the media and to have gambling halls only in settlements with more than 10 thousand inhabitants, reported BGNES.
The amendments to the Gambling Act prohibit the advertising of gambling games on television, websites and print media. It will remain allowed only on billboards and in gyms that are located far from schools or on sports equipment only.
The amendments passed the second reading in the relevant Budget Committee this morning.
It was agreed that the gambling investors should maintain the investment throughout the license, and the amount will increase from BGN 500,000 to BGN 750,000. In addition, to obtain a license, the gambling hall must be located no less than 300 meters from prohibited sites, including educational institutions.
There will be no gambling halls in settlements with less than 10,000 inhabitants. With this change, gambling halls are prohibited in settlements with less than 10,000 inhabitants, and this does not apply to resorts and border areas. In addition, gambling advertising on municipal or state-owned billboards is prohibited.
It was accepted that 10% of the area of each advertisement should be occupied by the inscription that "gambling carries the risk of addiction".
The gambling investor must also pay a socially responsible fee, which for online betting will be BGN 100,000, and bonuses in advertisements also fall.
50% of the contribution made by gambling operators will go to the Ministry of Health for the treatment and therapy of gambling addicts.
With the changes, it was also accepted that people who are registered in the register and receive social assistance will not have access to the gaming rooms, as they will not have the opportunity to unsubscribe from the register if they are receiving social assistance.
The introduction of software to monitor for maximum downtime on the internet pages of the gambling operator was also adopted.
It is also introduced the requirement in gaming halls and gaming casinos that the immediate payment of the profit be up to BGN 10,000 in cash, and the rest within the next working day.
Gambling investors have a period of 3 years in which to implement the imposed changes.
Persons who publish, broadcast or distribute advertising of gambling games are punished with a pecuniary sanction of BGN 30,000 to BGN 50,000 or a fine in the amount of BGN 5,000 to BGN 10,000.
The Council for Electronic Media will supervise the advertising content in the media space and, in case of violations, will refer to the National Revenue Agency.
The ban will not apply to the broadcasting of the draws of the Bulgarian sports totalizer.
In the event of a violation, the executive director of the NRA sends a notification to the organizer of the established violation and gives him one month to stop the violation and remove the consequences.
In the case of a first violation, the fine will be BGN 5,000, a second violation BGN 20,000, and a third - revocation of the license. /BGNES
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