Regulator: National Revenue Agency

Regulator: National Revenue Agency (NRA) - replaced the State Gambling Commission

Since 2020, the main gambling regulator in Bulgaria is the National Revenue Agency (NRA).

The reform, which replaced the previous State Gambling Commission, changed the control architecture: now licensing, fiscal supervision, auditing and blocking of illegal sites are combined under one structure.

This centralization turned Bulgaria into one of the most transparent and disciplined jurisdictions in Eastern Europe.

1) Prerequisites for reform

Until 2020, the market was regulated by the State Gambling Commission (SCG), a separate body under the Ministry of Finance.

Over the years, however, the system ran into problems:

fragmented control between departments;
insufficient transparency of reporting and taxation;
cases of abuse when issuing licenses and certification of equipment;
the growth of the shadow sector and illegal online platforms.

The government decided to combine the functions of control and fiscal monitoring in order to create a single vertical of responsibility.

2) 2020 reform: Devolution

The Gambling Act (July 2020) transferred all regulatory powers of the SCG to the NRA.

Main consequences:

The NRA became the sole supervisor of operator licensing, control and reporting.
The entire SCG infrastructure (archives, employees, IT systems) is integrated into the NRA structure.
Monitoring and taxes are now managed from a single center, eliminating duplication of functions.

The goal of the reform is not just to change the regulator, but to create a "one window" system that combines control, licensing and revenue collection.

3) New NRA gambling structure and functions

Today, the National Revenue Agency has four key roles:

1. Licensing and registration

issuance of licenses for online and offline activities;

verification of capital, sources of funds, reputation of beneficiaries;

equipment registration (slots, VLT, RNG).

2. Fiscal supervision

control of tax payments and license fees;

Automatic transfer of rates and payouts to the NRA

reconciliation of operator and PSP reporting.

3. Online sector monitoring

identifying illegal sites;

Blocking domains and IP addresses without a license

interaction with payment providers to block transactions.

4. Responsible Gaming and Compliance

checking the fulfillment of limits, RG policies, the availability of self-exclusion tools;

advertising audit, compliance with age and ethical restrictions;

data storage and protection control (GDPR).

4) Technology infrastructure and digital reporting

The NRA has implemented a state-of-the-art IT platform for centralized fiscal monitoring.

Each operator is required to connect their gaming systems to the agency's online gateway, which receives:

real-time rates and payouts;
Player session data (anonymized)
reports on RG, limits and activity;
PSP/bank channel transactions.

Result:

simplification of tax audit;
elimination of gray turns;
transparent statistics for analytics and budget planning.

5) Fighting illegal online gambling

One of the priorities of the NRA was the fight against unlicensed sites operating outside the Bulgarian jurisdiction.

Mechanisms:

maintaining a register of prohibited domains, regularly updated;
ISP obligations to block access to such sites;
notifying banks and PSPs that transactions are prohibited;
administrative fines for violators.

This system made Bulgaria one of the few countries in the region that effectively limited "gray online."

6) Market and operator impact

After transferring control to the NRA:

increased transparency of tax flows;
the level of illegal operators decreased;
compliance intensified - all licensed companies switched to full reporting;
increased confidence from banks, PSPs and foreign investors;
faster acquisition of licenses due to automation of procedures.

7) Interaction with international structures

The NRA coordinates with:

EGBA (European Gaming & Betting Association);
European Commission - for regulatory harmonization;
Interpol and Europol - in terms of AML and fraud control;
EBA and FATF - when implementing norms against money laundering.

Thanks to this, Bulgaria has built a European compliance circuit, minimizing the risks of sanctions and certification barriers.

8) Responsible Gaming and Social Mission

The NRA required operators to report on responsible gambling, including:

share of players with active limits;
the number of "timeouts" and self-exclusions;
addiction support calls.

The agency also oversees information campaigns about safe play and funds psychological assistance lines.

9) Benefits of the new regulatory model

Indicator	Before Reform (SCG)	Post-Reform (NRA)
Tax control	Partially scattered	Centralized at NRA
Online monitoring	It is limited	Real time
Licensing	Slow, paper	Electronic, automated
Fighting illegal immigrants	Weak	Mass locks and financial controls
RG and AML	Fragmentary	Mandatory and auditable
Market transparency	Average	High, according to EU standards

10) Forecast and development until 2030

Further digitalization: full automation of reporting and integration with the e-Government of Bulgaria.

International compatibility: export of the Bulgarian model to neighboring countries (as part of the Balkan coordination of iGaming).

ESG and RG: Publishing Open Metrics and Social Responsibility Standards.

Innovation support: development of sandbox projects for Web3 and crypto payments with KYC/AML control.

The transfer of functions from the State Gambling Commission to the National Revenue Agency was a key reform of the Bulgarian gambling market.

The NRA combined tax, licensing and control into a single system, ensuring the transparency, trust and sustainability of the sector.

Thanks to digitalization, strict compliance and responsibility to society, Bulgaria by 2025-2030 has established itself as one of the most reliable iGaming jurisdictions in Eastern Europe - with a balance between economic interests and social security of players.