The gambling industry continues to grow globally with higher revenues and more players. There is a need for regulation of the industry and this is happening globally. Bulgaria and Brazil have both been taking action against gambling companies. A similar situation also exists in the UK.
There are several areas of the gambling industry that governments and regulatory bodies are seeking to clamp down on. They realize that gambling can cause problems for people if they do not bet responsibly.
In Bulgaria, new legislation has seen it become illegal to open casinos in towns where the population is under 10,0000.
There has also been action taken against the way gambling is advertised. This is common in many countries with advertisements not being shown apart from at certain times of the day. In the UK, gambling companies cannot use role models who may be popular with younger players.
Bulgaria has really clamped down, though, and banned gambling advertising in the media. They didn’t take too much time to do so either. Just over a week after the bill was introduced, it was passed into law with a comfortable majority voting in favor of it.
This new law means that the only advertising gambling companies will be allowed is on outdoor billboards. They must be at least 300 meters from establishments such as schools and kindergartens. The only gambling-related advertisements on the media will be for the state lottery. The profits made from selling tickets must go towards financing Bulgarian sports.
The country is one of the poorest in Europe and in recent years has seen a large corruption scandal that was gambling-related. Vasil Bozhov was the largest advertiser in the Bulgarian media. He ran gambling sites and private lotteries but his businesses were closed down in 2020 and Bozhkov sanctioned for corruption.
This was good news for his rivals and the Bulgarian media. 2023 saw them receive €85 million in media advertising revenue from gambling companies such as Efbet and Winbet as well as Betano from Greece.
In addition to the growth in gambling advertising, there have been hundreds of new gambling halls and casinos open in the country’s main cities.
Stilyan Shishkov is the founder of Sportal.bg, which is the largest sports news website, and executive director of the Bulgarian Gaming Association. He says that the Bulgarian gambling industry is “in favor” of restrictions being placed on betting advertisements.
His concern is that the banning of gambling advertisements will see players heading to the unregulated betting market. That’s not good news for gambling companies who will lose revenue and will affect the amount of tax paid to the government. Unregulated sites also offer lower levels of protection to their customers.
The action also isn’t good news for those who have been receiving gambling advertising revenue. The drop in finances may make it difficult for them to cover major sporting events.
Romania has also been taking action against their gambling industry. They have laws that ban slot machines in smaller towns. That’s been imposed due to a rise in the levels of gambling addiction.
It’s not just in Europe that action is being taken against the gambling industry. In Brazil, there is to be a ban on the offering of free bets and bonuses. These are used to attract and then keep customers.
Changes expected to be introduced in October of this year also cover the time it takes for deposits and withdrawals to be made. Cryptocurrency and cheque payouts will also become illegal.
There has long been a desire by the UK government to reform their gambling laws. The last major legislation was in 2005, long before the arrival of the internet and betting on mobile phones. This has led to the current gambling laws being seen as outdated.
In 2023, a White Paper was published that laid down possible measures to be introduced. There has been further consultation, but finally, there are signs of action being taken. Still, there are concerns about the safety of those in the UK who gamble.
From September, those aged 18-24 will only be able to stake a maximum £2 on each spin of an online slot game. For those 25 and over, the maximum stake will be £5.
Stricter affordability checks are also being promised. This will see gamblers being asked to provide evidence that they can afford to gamble the amounts they are depositing and losing. More regulation on areas such as advertising, new customer incentives, such as casino bonus codes and free bets are also expected.
Several license holders have found themselves having to pay regulatory settlements to the UK Gambling Commission after social responsibility and anti-money laundering breaches.
It will be interesting to see what future legislation lies ahead in the UK, particularly if the next General Election sees Labour come to power.