Bulgaria Party Pushes Stricter Gambling Ad Rules

Bulgaria’s We Continue the Change party is calling for tougher controls on gambling advertising, arguing that previous reforms have left gaps that gambling companies can exploit through indirect promotional strategies.

The party has continued to press for stricter advertising rules. In July, it called on the government to introduce stronger restrictions as part of discussions surrounding the 2026/27 budget.

Concerns over the existing rules were highlighted during broadcasts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when gambling companies reportedly promoted affiliates and bookmakers. This allowed them to gain prime-time exposure without relying on direct gambling advertisements.

According to Bulgarian National Radio, We Continue the Change is proposing several additional restrictions:

• A complete ban on gambling advertising outside gambling establishments

• A 10cm by 10cm limit for gambling logos displayed on adult sportswear

• A prohibition on product placement for gambling brands

• Responsible gambling warnings to account for at least 10% of permitted advertisements

• Standard warning messages to be displayed in black text on a white background.

Party chairman Assen Vassilev said:

“We need to seal off the legislative loopholes, such as product placement not being treated as advertising. This is an obvious loophole being used. This also goes for the branding of gambling operators not being treated as advertising when you add ‘League’ at the end of it. When it comes to online advertising, we have a very good example. Currently, the European Union forbids any type of political advertising across all social media, which has led to companies like Facebook and Google to self-regulate in order to remain compliant. Let’s start working in that direction. We’ve spoken to our European MEPs about implementing such an EU-wide measure for gambling as well, so that neither Facebook nor Google can allow online marketing when the user is located in a Member State.”

The proposals are expected to contribute to the broader discussion surrounding Bulgaria’s gambling legislation and whether the country’s current advertising restrictions are effective enough to prevent indirect promotion.