Conditions and procedure for registration and identification of participants, the storage of data related to the organised online betting in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, and for submission of information on gambling to a National Revenue Agency server

Draft Decree of the Council of Ministers on the adoption of a Regulation on the conditions and the procedure for registration and identification of participants, the storage of data related to the organised online betting in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, and for submission of information on gambling to a National Revenue Agency server

Currently, the matter regulated in the proposed draft is regulated by Regulation No 1 of 2013 on the procedure and the manner of identification and registration of participants, storage of data related to organised online betting in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, and of submission of information on gambling to a server of the State Commission on Gambling and the National Revenue Agency, issued by the Minister for Finance, published in State Gazette (SG) No 22 of 2013. This Regulation has been issued on the grounds of Article 6(1)(4) of the Gambling Act, in its version prior to the amendments published in the State Gazette (SG) No 14 of 2020.

The current Regulation lays down the requirements for registration and identification of players in the central computer system of online gambling organisers, the rules for automated submission of information and online registration of each transaction in a National Revenue Agency server for lottery games of chance, games with sports betting and with betting on horse and dog races, betting on random events, betting related to the knowledge of facts, online betting and games by other electronic means of communication, as well as the manner and the conditions for the storage of all data related to the provision of online gambling services in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as the provision of remote access to such data to the supervisory bodies of the NRA and of the State Agency for National Security (SANS).
The implementation of the Regulation ensures traceability of money flows in online betting, provision of information on the revenues of online gambling organisers, thus creating the possibility for enhanced control over the fulfilment by organisers of their obligations to pay taxes and fees, and also aims to achieve more efficient control over the observance of gambling legislation.
The Act amending the Gambling Act, published in the State Gazette (SG) No 69 of 2020, led to the adoption of a number of amendments in gambling activities regulation in the Republic of Bulgaria. The adoption of these amendments was related to the detection of a number of flaws in gambling legislation, in the practical application of the law and in the control of its observance. The body exercising the functions of a regulator of gambling and of gambling-related activities was changed, and its powers were delegated to the Executive Director of the National Revenue Agency. This change led to changes in the regulation of the activity of the regulator, including changes related to the fact that the regulator is now a single-member instead of a collective body, in the procedures for issuing licences under the Act, and in the rules for exercising control activity. A number of requirements, which gambling organisers must fulfil, were also changed. The grounds for issuing/adopting the secondary legislation provided for in the Act were also amended. As regards the draft concerned, it has been provided that the Regulation is adopted by the Council of Ministers on the grounds of Article 17(3)(6). The described changes led to the adoption of the Regulation, proposed with the draft Decree of
the Council of Ministers, regulating the above-mentioned matter. In view of the closing of the State Commission on Gambling, provided for in the Act amending the Gambling Act (SG No 69 of 2020), in the new Regulation all functions and activities of the Commission are transferred to the National Revenue Agency. The texts in the Regulation, related to references to provisions of the Gambling Act, have been aligned with the above-mentioned amendments in the structure of the Act. Any inconsistencies and incompleteness in terminology, detected in the application of the current Regulation, have been eliminated. The adoption of the proposed draft Regulation provides an opportunity for gambling organisers, who are the subjects of the Regulation, to fulfil their obligations in a proper and precise manner.
Pursuant to the provision of Article 26(3) of the Legal Acts Act, the draft Act provides for public consultations.
The draft Decree of the Council of Ministers, the draft Regulation, the report to the draft Act, the partial preliminary impact assessment and the opinion of Directorate “Modernisation of the Administration”, which is part of the administration of the Council of Ministers, have been published on the website of the Ministry of Finance and on the Public Consultation Portal for 30 days.