Bulgaria’s gambling regulator, the National Revenue Agency (NRA), ruled that casinos can no longer employ individuals on the self-exclusion register.
The NRA already had a mandate in place requiring casino operators to refuse entry to customers on the self-exclusion list (along with those who are under 18, intoxicated, in uniform, carrying weapons, or not carrying identification). Breaching this rule could put a BGN20,000 ($11,200) fine in the operator’s mailbox. As a result, several operators inquired whether this mandate applied to their employees as well as customers.
operators risk facing a fine if they hire (or continue to employ) listed individuals
The NRA’s ruling, now made public, is that the mandate does, in fact, apply to employees. This means operators risk facing a fine if they hire (or continue to employ) listed individuals.
The Bulgarian self-exclusion list was recently reinstated after a two-year hiatus ending in December 2022. Joining the list is voluntary and private. However, the minimum term is two years, and removal from the list requires approval from the NRA’s executive director.
Only a few people can access the list (all either employed by the NRA or a gambling operator). Since reinstatement, 7,200 people had applied to join the list by April 2023. It is not known how many of these are already employed by casinos or gambling operators.