Bulgaria to abolish gambling commission, hand oversight to the taxman

Bulgaria’s gambling regulatory agency is no more after legislators voted to assign oversight to the country’s tax authorities.

On Thursday, Bulgaria’s National Assembly approved the second reading of amendments to the Law on Gambling aimed at re-establishing some semblance of control over the country’s land-based and online sectors.

The main aspect of the bill is the elimination of the State Gambling Commission (SGC), which fell into disrepute after some of its senior members were accused of involvement in organized crime. Those charges followed the government going to war with Vasil Bozhkov, who formerly controlled the country’s biggest gambling businesses.

Earlier drafts of the amendments included a plan to fold gambling regulation into a body under the Council of Ministers but the plan approved Thursday will see oversight given directly to the National Revenue Agency. The SGC will be given three months to wind up its affairs, with a liquidation commission ensuring that any incriminating files don’t get accidentally incinerated while no one’s looking.