The Bulgarian legislature has approved the second reading of a bill that aims to abolish Bulgaria’s existing gambling regulator and hand its duties to the National Revenue Agency, as well as to introduce new capital requirements for licensees.

Bill 054-01-51 to Amend and Supplement the Gambling Act was introduced in June and approved by the Committee on Budgets and Finance, the Committee on Culture and the Media, the Committee on Children, Youth and Sport and the Committee on Budgets and Finance before being adopted on its first reading on 17 June.

Initially, the bill planned on creating a new regulator, the State Gambling Agency, which would be a new specialised body within the country’s Council of Ministers. However, it was amended by various members of the party GERB to instead allow the National Revenue Agency to take over this role.

It was then approved at its second reading on July 23, sending it to President Rumen Radev.

“The changes are aimed at clarifying the status of the gambling regulator and ensuring transparency in its work, which, in turn, will lead to optimisation and increase the quality of its activities,” one of the bill’s sponsors, Alexander Ivanov, said in a committee hearing.

The bill also sets out new capital requirements for licensees after an amendment put forward by Valeri Simeonov. This includes a BGN1m capital requirement for slot licensees, a BGN1.5m requirement for casino licensees and a BGN3m requirement for those offering online gambling.

Supplier partners with Croatian market leader

Casino software provider Playson has signed a content distribution agreement with SuperSport, Croatia’s foremost operator.

The online sportsbook will significantly enhance its casino offering by directly integrating a thrilling set of Playson titles, including Buffalo Power: Hold and Win, Solar Temple and Solar Queen.

The partnership also covers the developer’s Timeless Fruit Slots and Funky Fruits portfolios, which are likely to perform well in a jurisdiction where classic fruit-themed games resonate with a wide audience.

SuperSport will also benefit from access to Playson’s retention-boosting suite of integration-free engagement tools, such as bonus spins and regular tournaments with daily prize drops.

The deal sees Playson further enhance its impressive player reach in regulated markets across the globe, as the games studio continues to go from strength to strength in Europe and beyond.

Blanka Homor, Sales Director at Playson, said: “We are thrilled to team up with Croatia’s most prominent operator in SuperSport, in a move that cements our leading credentials as a premium supplier of quality slots.

“With a packed game collection boasting widespread appeal, alongside an engagement toolkit that is proven to drive player retention, we’re ready to deliver for our latest operating partner.”

Tugomil Cerovecki, Online Casino Manager at SuperSport said: “Playson’s absorbing portfolio is enjoyed by an ever-growing legion of global fans, so we are very pleased to partner with the company.

“The provider’s premium quality games, in particular its Timeless Fruit Slots and Funky Fruits portfolios, will undoubtedly help us to continue standing out in a competitive commercial environment.”

Gaming Innovation Group Inc. (GiG) has signed a heads of terms agreement with K.A.K. DOO Skopje, Hospitality, tourism and services company (K.A.K.) for the provision of GiG’s platform, front end development and managed media services to launch their digital operation in the regulated North Macedonian market.

K.A.K. is one of North Macedonia’s leading leisure groups with two casinos offering both slots and table games, LeGrand Casino Skopje and LeGrand Casino Bitola, along with four hotels (Hotel Epinal in Bitola and hotels Sport, Bistra and Lodge in Mavrovo) and the Mavrovo Ski Resort.

Having traditionally been a closed market to online operators, the Macedonian government is now allowing land based operators to apply for online licenses that must directly reflect their offline offering. Through their LeGrand casinos, K.A.K. will, therefore, be one of a handful of operators in North Macedonia to offer table games to online players along with a complete slots portfolio. K.A.K. has selected GiG’s casino platform offering as well as GiG’s managed media services to capitalise on their digital transformation from land based to online gambling.

The final agreement is expected to be signed in August 2020, and will be on a combined fixed fee and revenue share structure. The casino offering is expected to go-live by Q1, 2021, and this partnership is expected to make a positive contribution to GiG’s revenues from 2021 onwards.

Ognjan Cigovski, Chief Executive Officer of K.A.K. DOO Skopje says: “Gaming Innovation Group is known in the iGaming industry as a reliable and trustful company with a history of success working with land based operators like ourselves. We are pleased to have them supporting our digital transformation and online player acquisition strategy as we expand into the newly regulating online market. We believe that by joining our efforts we can translate the feel and look of our LeGrand casino’s into an online offering that both caters for our current players as well as attracts new ones. We are looking forward to a long lasting and mutually beneficial partnership.”

Richard Brown, Chief Executive Officer of GiG says, “North Macedonia has a long history in the landbased casino segment, and is a major casino tourist destination in the region. Partnering with a leading brand, hospitality and entertainment group in the region is an exciting opportunity for GiG and we look forward to helping replicate LeGrand Casinos retail success online as the market regulates”.