Bulgaria Takes Down More than 2.5K Illegal Gambling Websites

Just like other European countries, Bulgaria constantly monitors its online gambling market. In the event of uncovering illegal online gambling websites, the country’s National Revenue Agency (NRA), takes action by taking down such black market operators.

Crackdown on Unlawful Gambling Continues

In one recent operation, the Agency confirmed it shut down thousands of illegal gambling websites. An announcement on Wednesday reveals that since the start of the year, the NRA’s efforts resulted in the shutdown of more than 2,500 online gambling websites offering their services to Bulgarian customers without a license. The impressive number of websites that were shut down reaffirmed NRA’s intentions to combat unlawful gambling.

Notably, in September alone, the NRA’s executive director greenlighted decisions for the blocking of 640 online casinos and betting platforms operating without the required license. The Agency doesn’t allow bad actors to offer their services freely and once it takes action, an operator is given three days to discontinue their offering.

In case the operator fails to comply within the given deadline, the matter is referred by the NRA to court. As a way to effectively combat the offering of unlicensed operators, a court can then order Bulgarian internet service providers to block access to the particular website or websites. This is an effective method that prevents customers from accessing a website by using conventional methods to connect to the internet. Still, the use of certain internet browsers or virtual private network programs can circumvent such a ban.

The Agency’s Blacklist Grows

Similar to other online gambling markets, the NRA has compiled a list of providers that are licensed to offer their services to customers in Bulgaria. At the time of writing, the list consists of 22 licensed gambling providers.

Besides including the exact web address of the operator, the Agency’s list features the operator’s registered name and the type of gambling activity it offers. Recognizable operators such as Betway, Betano, bet365, InBet and PokerStars, among others, can already be found on the list of licensed providers.

In addition to the list of licensed gambling operators, the NRA features a blacklist that contains the web addresses and names of companies, individuals or organizations that do not hold a license in the country and offer their services unlawfully. The NRA encouraged individuals who come across an illegal gambling provider to report it via email.