Bulgarian policymakers have proposed the introduction of time and loss limits for online gaming.
A draft proposal has been put forward by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Healthcare, which includes calls for mandatory game session limits and limits on losses and wagering over 24 hours.
If implemented, players over 24 years of age will be limited to four-hour game sessions, reduced to two hours for those under 24.
The clock on each game session will begin when the player logs into their account, and once the limit is reached, operators will be required to inform the customer and log them out of their account. A 15-minute cooling-off period will be in place before players can log in, and they will also be provided with safer gambling messages and information about the national self-exclusion registry.
Mandatory loss and wagering limits within a 24-hour period are also included in the proposals.
For over 24s, these will be set at 10 and 20 average monthly private sector salaries respectively, halved to five and 10 for those under 24. The salary level will be based on figures from the National Statistics Office from the previous year.
Players who reach their limit for losses will be asked by operators to agree to join Bulgaria’s self-exclusion registry for seven days. Those who refuse will not be allowed to gamble.
Operators will be required to notify customers when they have reached 50%, 75% and 100% of their loss limit.
Players will be able to set maximum wagering amounts for specific game types and specific time ranges, with the set periods being between 6am and 8pm, and 8pm and 6am.
For all three measures, players will be able to customise their personal limits within the stipulated maximums set out by the proposals.
Such responsible gambling measures continue the trend of gambling reforms in the Bulgarian market.
In April, the Bulgarian National Revenue Agency confirmed that gamblers in the country will now have to self-exclude for a minimum period of one year, significantly extending the previous limit of 30 days.
More recently, Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov detailed his belief that the country’s bid to join the Eurozone next year can strengthen Bulgaria’s regulated gambling industry.
