Bulgaria introduces mandatory licensing for affiliate operators promoting gambling
Background
Until now, the Bulgarian Gambling Act regulated gambling organisers but did not specifically address the affiliate marketing channel through which many gambling brands acquire players. The State Budget Act for 2026 closed that gap by amending the Gambling Act and by adding affiliate promotion to the list of licensed activities. The National Revenue Agency is the competent authority for issuing, refusing, terminating and revoking affiliate operator licences.
Key issues
Who counts as an affiliate operator
The distinction is critical. If a person or a legal entity receives any performance-based commissions tied to gambling results (i.e. commissions based on the number of participants recruited, deposits, bets, and winnings paid out), it is considered an affiliate operator and falls within the regime. If the services are billed on a fixed or time-based fee unconnected to gambling performance results, the activity is outside the scope of the new regime.
Licence requirements and process
The main features of the new licence are as follows:
- The licence is valid for five years and must be renewed no later than two months before expiry.
- Both Bulgarian and foreign individuals or legal entities require a licence.
- Foreign operators must appoint an authorised representative with an address in Bulgaria.
- The application must list all online channels used for promotion: websites, mobile apps, social media profiles and video or streaming platforms. These are recorded on the licence certificate.
- The National Revenue Agency is expected to complete its review within seven days. If documents are incomplete, the applicant is notified within three days and given seven days to remedy the gaps.
- Affiliate operators can only promote gambling organisers that hold an active Bulgarian licence.
Licence fees
The licence maintenance fee has two components:
- Fixed annual fee: EUR 6,000, normally due by 31 March each year (or before receiving the certificate if the licence is issued after that date).
- Variable component: 10% of performance-linked commission. The gambling organiser paying the commission is responsible for withholding and remitting this amount with monthly electronic declarations to the National Revenue Agency by the 15th of the following month. If a sham transaction conceals the true commission, the rate doubles to 20% of the value of the concealed commission.
Transitional deadline
Any person that had, as of 1 August 2026, an existing contract to promote gambling games for a licensed organiser is required to apply for an affiliate operator licence by 15 August 2026. Existing arrangements may continue to operate until the licence decision is issued.
Sanctions and enforcement
The amendments introduce enforcement tools and financial penalties as follows:
- Promoting gambling through an unlicensed affiliate operator: property sanctions of approximately EUR 5,000 to EUR 20,000 (which may be doubled for repeat breaches).
- Promotion in favour of an unlicensed gambling organiser: fines of approximately EUR 3,000 to EUR 10,000 or property sanctions of EUR 5,000 to EUR 20,000 (doubled for repeat breaches).
- Breach of gambling advertising restrictions by an affiliate operator: fines of approximately EUR 2,000 to EUR 5,000 or property sanctions of EUR 3,000 to EUR 8,000.
- Forfeiture: all funds received from unlicensed affiliate operators will be forfeited.
- Website blocking: the National Revenue Agency can order the blocking of websites, apps, social media profiles and streaming platforms used by unlicensed affiliate operators. Blocking decisions are published on the agency’s website and telecoms providers must cut access within 24 hours of publication.
Existing advertising restrictions still apply
The amendments explicitly indicate that activities by affiliate operators to promote gambling must be organised in accordance with the restrictions on gambling advertising already in the gambling Act.
Comment
The new regime draws a clear line between ordinary advertising services and affiliate marketing. For advertising companies and persons that currently promote gambling brands on a performance-linked basis, the immediate priority is to determine whether existing contracts or stipulations place them within the definition of an affiliate operator. Any arrangement where remuneration depends on player sign-ups, deposits, bets or similar metrics will require a licence. The short transitional window (15 August 2026 is the deadline for existing operators) means that any business or person already engaged in this activity should apply without further delay.
Practical steps
- Review all contracts with gambling clients to classify each as either fixed-fee (outside scope) or performance-linked (requires a licence).
- Confirm that every gambling organiser promoted holds an active Bulgarian licence. Promoting an unlicensed organiser carries separate penalties.
- Prepare a full inventory of online channels (e.g. websites, apps, social media accounts, streaming platforms) used for gambling promotion as these must be declared in the licence application.
- If you are a foreign entity, appoint an authorised representative with a Bulgarian address.
- Budget for the EUR 6,000 annual fee and factor the 10% variable component (withheld by the gambling organiser) into commercial negotiations.
- Ensure all advertising content complies with the existing restrictions on gambling advertising channels and the responsible-gambling warning requirements.
The enforcement toolkit is substantial. The NRA can block channels without a court order, sanctions are doubled for repeat offences and there is no extended grace period. Companies that do not act promptly risk both financial penalties and access restrictions to their promotional platforms.
For more information on changes to the Bulgarian Gambling Act, contact your CMS client parter or the CMS experts who contributed to this article: Anna Tanova, Partner; Yana Antonova, Counsel; Andrea Andreev, Associate, or your usual CMS contact.
