Bulgaria proposes 15-year concession for state lottery
A news briefing on the proposed amendment to the Gambling Act, under which the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator (BST) would be granted a 15-year concession, was held in Parliament.
The bill'sponsors, Dragomir Stoynev of BSP - United Left, Yordan Tzonev of MRF - New Beginning, Kostadin Angelov of GERB-UDF, as well as Sports Minister Ivan Peshev, addressed the media, CE Report quotes BTA.
The draft revision is included in the Transitional and Final Provisions of the 2026 State Budget Bill and has been published on the National Assembly's website.
Under the proposed amendment, the Minister of Youth and Sports has until March 31, 2026 to make a public call for expressions of interest in the submission of investment proposals by interested economic operators for an award of a concession on the BST's operation for at least 15 years. At a news briefing here on Tuesday, Ivaylo Mirchev MP of the opposition Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria described the idea as "exceedingly unacceptable", because the BST is a market monopolist in Bulgaria.
Stoynev said that the BST will remain State-owned.
"We are opening the door only if a major international operator appears, one with the necessary lottery experience, and if the concession fee is at least twice the current amount of BGN 240 million. Another requirement is that all jobs be preserved," he added. If any of these conditions is not met, we will not move forward," he underscored.
Tzonev stressed that offshore companies will not be allowed to apply for any type of concession. Asked whether There Is Such a People would support the concession, Tzonev said they would likely back it, but at the time of signing they had said they were not informed in detail and had asked for more time to make a decision.
MP Delyan Dobrev of GERB-UDF said that he can not understand the opposition's refusal to support the concession of the state lottery which he described as “the only right-wing measure in the budget”. According to him, everything that can be concessioned should be, because the State has proven over the past 40 years that it is not a good manager.
"We have suspicions of lobbying by the opposition in favour of private operators," Dobrev added. He noted that he did not know of any other sector in Bulgaria, aside from banking, that generated BGN 2 billion in profit.
"With BGN 2 billion in profit, you can buy a lot of MPs, and it seems to me this is exactly what is happening, because I cannot understand how allegedly right-wing parties can oppose the concession," he said.
Sports Minister Peshev said that over the past ten months, the Ministry has carried out an analysis of the BST's activities. The turnover of the gambling sector in Bulgaria amounts to BGN 44 billion, with profits of BGN 2 billion, while the Totalizator generates only BGN 70 million.
"This is why, together with colleagues from the Joint Governance Council, we have taken steps to seek opportunities to increase funding for sport, sports infrastructure and youth policy," he said.
According to Peshev, this approach will allow major international companies operating in the lottery business to participate in the BST's activities. He stressed that the Government is specifically seeking large international operators.
“All Totalizator employees should be assured that they will keep their jobs, and staffing will increase at least two-fold. The entire concession fee that is set will go into the budget of the Sports Ministry, and all sports federations will have their budgets doubled,” he said.
