Bulgarian Parliament Leader Kiselova Says Why She Wore a Gambling T-Shirt

The Bulgarian Parliament leader, Nataliya Kiselova, recently attended a soccer match and wore a shirt featuring the name of a sports betting company, a move many saw as controversial. However, the Parliament leader later explained her action as a deliberate provocation to spark discussion regarding gambling addiction in the country.

Kiselova Was Criticized 

Kiselova attended a soccer match between the Premier Division CSKA and Cherno More in the Vasil Levski National Stadium on April 22. She was photographed wearing a shirt with the name of the betting company and soccer club sponsor written across the chest. Her name and the number 240 were written on her back. This caused a commotion in Bulgaria as many criticized Kiselova for seemingly endorsing the popular betting company.

Bulgaria has had its fair share of gambling and betting-related scandals recently, with Kiselova’s choice of clothing being one of them. Another case that recently hit world media was about the Bulgarian VAR official allegedly getting caught allegedly using a betting app while live monitoring a match.

Back to Kiselova’s case, one political party, Democrats for Strong Bulgaria, condemned her choice of attire as unacceptable, both morally and legally. They argued that it breached parliamentary rules, which prohibit Members of Parliament from using their official status for promotional purposes. The party also highlighted that Parliament had unanimously approved a ban on gambling advertisements in the media, calling it “a clear and firm message against gambling addiction, which is devastating the lives of thousands of Bulgarian families.” The statement went on to say that Kiselova’s actions damaged the image of Parliament and eroded public trust in the constitutional system.

Kiselova Responds to the Criticism 

On Wednesday, various Bulgarian media outlets inundated the Parliament leader with questions about her choice of attire during the soccer match and the following controversy. However, Kiselova responded, saying this was “a shocking way to raise the issue of addiction in Bulgarian society.” She also explained this was a method of raising the question of whether Bulgarian sport has grown to rely mostly on betting for its finances. Kiselova also explained she chose the number 240 as a reference to the number of parliamentary representatives that the Bilingual parliament has.

In recent times, gambling and sports betting sponsorships have been growing in influence in European soccer. Bulgaria is no exception to that trend, as many sports teams from the country have endorsed various gambling and betting sponsors.

Kiselova stated her action was part of a bigger attempt to support Bulgarian sports. When asked whether she would propose legislative changes to ban gambling company advertisements on sports symbols, Kiselova said that the issue was not to ban it, but to distinguish illegal gambling from those operators that pay their taxes.