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Bulgaria has brought gambling affiliates into a licensing system for the first time, giving the National Revenue Agency new powers over businesses that earn money by sending players to gambling operators.
The rules took effect on August 1, with existing affiliates given until August 15, 2026 to apply for a licence. The short deadline leaves little room for businesses to treat the changes as a long-term compliance project.
The key issue is how an affiliate is paid. A company or individual whose income depends on player registrations, deposits, bets, winnings or other measurable gambling activity will now fall under the new regime. Traditional advertising bought for a fixed fee is outside it.
That distinction could affect a wide range of online marketing arrangements.
Five-year licences and a new cost structure
Licences will run for five years and apply to both Bulgarian and foreign individuals and companies. Foreign affiliates must appoint an authorised representative with an address in Bulgaria.
Applicants also have to disclose every online channel used to promote gambling. That includes websites, mobile applications, social media accounts and video or streaming platforms. Those channels become part of the licence record.
The NRA is expected to process applications within seven days. Where paperwork is incomplete, applicants should be notified within three days and given another seven days to correct the problem.
There is also a financial price to operating legally.
Affiliates face a fixed annual fee of €6,000, normally payable by March 31. On top of that comes a variable charge equal to 10% of performance-based commission. The gambling operator paying the affiliate is responsible for withholding and transferring that amount to the NRA each month.
Where a transaction is found to have concealed the real commission, the variable charge rises to 20%.
Affiliates are also restricted to promoting gambling operators that hold a valid Bulgarian licence.
Enforcement reaches beyond fines
The new rules give Bulgarian authorities a direct route to online enforcement.
Operating or promoting gambling through an unlicensed affiliate can result in financial penalties of roughly €5,000 to €20,000, with repeat violations potentially costing twice as much. Separate sanctions apply when an affiliate promotes an unlicensed gambling operator or breaches existing advertising restrictions.
Money received through unlicensed affiliate activity can also be confiscated.
More significantly for digital businesses, the NRA can order websites, applications, social media profiles and streaming platforms used by unlicensed affiliates to be blocked. Telecommunications providers must restrict access within 24 hours after the blocking decision is published.
The affiliate rules do not replace Bulgaria’s existing gambling advertising restrictions. Those requirements continue to apply to promotional activity covered by the new licence system.
For affiliates already operating under performance-based contracts, the immediate deadline is August 15. Existing agreements can continue while an application is being decided, but only if the licensing process has been started.
The practical dividing line is now clear: fixed advertising fees remain outside the regime, while payment linked to gambling performance brings the affiliate into it.
For businesses operating across several markets, the change also means that contracts, promotional channels and gambling clients will need to be checked against Bulgaria’s licensing requirements rather than treated simply as ordinary advertising arrangements.
Source: www.lexology.com
