2024-04-28 05:17:19
Where it is introduced, there is a boom in unlicensed sites, countries are losing billions
Under the noble pretext of preventing Bulgarians from becoming addicted to gambling, the deputies decided to stop its advertising in all media – print and electronic, including websites, as well as in public places.
Advertise this on billboards up to 100 meters from schools, sports teams, gyms, stadiums and swimming pools.
The people’s representatives were so “concerned” about the people that they are even inviting an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to finally accept the ban on advertising. It is argued that this also meets the requirements of European legislation.
But there is no single regulatory regime in the EU. 10 years ago, the EC issued guidelines that gambling advertising must be responsible and not encourage betting. It is left to the states themselves to decide what to do.
For example, there is a complete ban on advertising in Italy. In Germany it is forbidden to broadcast during the day – from 6 am to 9 pm. In Romania, there are also restrictions on television and radio advertising at certain times.
The Netherlands has introduced a ban on advertising through most media channels, including television, radio and print. And also in public places. Belgium has also banned gambling advertising on multiple platforms as well as those in stadiums.
There are also restrictions overseas. In the US, betting is allowed in 38 of the 52 states. In Canada, gambling advertising is prohibited on television, radio, movie theaters, magazines, newspapers, in public places, and on social media and websites. The Australian authorities also intend to ban xapta advertising by the beginning of 2026.
However, the examples from these countries show that the introduction of a ban on advertising leads to the flourishing of illegal gambling.
In Italy, “Gazetta dello Sport” recently reported that after the restrictions, 75% of bets are made on unlicensed sites in the country. The market there is estimated at 25 billion euros per year. And losses for the state from uncollected fees and taxes are over 1 billion euros per year, the publication claims.
In Germany, a study by the University of Leipzig was recently published, showing that there 50% of bets are made through unlicensed sites. The Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit has announced that unlicensed operators are widely posting advertisements encouraging consumers to use their online services.
Another example, but from the USA – online bets for the last Super Bowl were made for 5.4 billion dollars. Of these, only 1.6 billion went through licensed operators, the remaining amount was wagered through sites that are not allowed to operate legally in the US.
All of this shows that where restrictions are placed on gambling advertising, illegal betting runs rampant. And users are not protected in any way, because the law does not protect them when they have made a bet through such sites. At the same time, the business of the licensed operators suffers, and as a result there is a direct loss of revenue for the budget.
The question, if the complete ban on advertising is accepted, who will monitor whether it is observed, also remains completely unclear. In our country, the control of gambling is entrusted to the National Revenue Agency. Tax authorities have so far closed 3,280 illegal gambling sites. But that doesn’t mean they stop working – they just change their domain and continue. Whether the NRA has the resources to track all the sites and what is posted on them is also quite debatable. And if a banner ad can be relatively easily detected, does this also apply to the content of the posts.
Another rather dubious point – the sites include advertisements from different platforms, such as Google, for example. And if there are gambling among them, who will be responsible, because the sites have no control over these ads.
There is no dispute that gambling can be addictive and that advertising should be responsible – not aimed at teenagers and containing messages of responsible behaviour. But the introduction of bans does not lead to the desired effect, but to the exact opposite.
MPs apparently forget that the gambling industry adopted self-regulation. These include airing advertisements in certain time zones and within 10 minutes before, after and during the live broadcast of sporting events. Persons under the age of 23 or characters and images from films or programs whose main audience is children do not participate in advertisements.
Moreover, behind every total ban there are loopholes. After the ban on cigarette advertising on Formula 1 cars, cigarette sponsors wrote the drivers’ names in the respective brand’s font. Or they put the name of the manufacturing company and not the brand name of the cigarettes.
Radios and televisions want a discussion with the deputies
The Association of Bulgarian Radio and Television Broadcasters – ABRO, supports the reasons for the amendments to the Law on Gambling adopted in the first reading, but insists on an immediate discussion with the MPs and representatives of the gambling industry and the media. This will find the most accurate and effective way to limit gambling advertising before final acceptance. This is stated in an official position of the organization.
From there, they are adamant that a complete ban will not be effective. Even the opposite – gambling participants will switch to illegal providers that do not follow the rules and where there are no guarantees of consumer protection.
ABRO specifies that gambling advertising must be limited and responsible. At the same time, it gives financial stability and independence to the media, which is a guarantee for freedom of speech. Therefore, its limitation should be approached very carefully and responsibly, and the goals of the bill can be achieved with stricter and detailed regulation of the content of advertising messages.
The changes have a fatal impact on sports
If they become a fact, the changes could have a serious impact on Bulgarian sport. The reason – the state gambling operator is equal to all others.
The ban on gambling advertising will damage the state operator – the lottery. Sports federations and clubs are “fed” from it.
Every year funds from the lottery are allocated to Bulgarian culture. For last year, it marked a historic record, as sports and culture departments 97 million BGN.
Over BGN 200 million in winnings has been paid out by the lottery for 2023. The biggest single in history is BGN 9.69 million won in September in Kozloduy. For comparison, in 2022, the total amount won by the participants of the totalizer games was 176 million.
The lottery has not yet announced its revenues for 2023, but by the end of the first nine months they were BGN 287 million, which is BGN 37 million more than the same period last year.
The mandatory operator is obliged to return as winnings to the participants in the number games at least 50% of the proceeds. Especially in the most preferred games (“6 out of 49”, “6 out of 42”, “5 out of 35” and “Joker”) over 101 million BGN winnings were distributed, which is also a record.
The instant lottery games, which became a state monopoly in 2020, have returned over BGN 94 million to the participants.
Adding sports bets and promotional campaigns, the total prizes exceed BGN 200 million.
If the deputies vote for the law in the second reading, they will certainly reduce the sponsorship contracts of the teams. They have already received a blow after the fee hike, which will most likely lead to the liquidation of basketball in “Levski” and CSKA, which cannot fill their budgets.