Who needs a gambling affiliate licence in Bulgaria — the EUR 6,000 + 10% fee, fines and the 2027 draft bill

What changed on 1 August 2026

The amendments to the Bulgarian Gambling Act were introduced by § 34 of the transitional and final provisions of the State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria Act for 2026 (State Gazette No. 69 of 31 July 2026). The provisions on affiliates took effect on 1 August 2026. They make the promotion of gambling by affiliate operators a separately licensed activity under Article 1(3) of the Gambling Act. The NRA issues the licences and supervises the activity.

On 5 August 2026 the NRA head office issued guidance ref. No. 60-30-726/05.08.2026 (in Bulgarian) explaining how it applies the new rules. The essentials, as of October 2026:

• Who may hold the licence — Bulgarian and foreign individuals and legal entities, including sole traders (Article 4(7)).
• The deciding test — remuneration linked to results (§ 1, points 30 and 31 of the supplementary provisions).
• The cost — EUR 6,000 a year plus 10% of the performance-linked commission (Article 30a).
• Licensed brands only — an affiliate may promote only operators that hold a Bulgarian licence (Article 4(9)).
• Penalties — EUR 5,000 to EUR 20,000 under Article 97b and EUR 3,000 to EUR 20,000 under Article 97c, doubled for a repeat breach; EUR 2,000 to EUR 8,000 under Article 105(3) for breaches of the advertising restrictions; some breaches can also lead to temporary or final withdrawal of the licence (Articles 85 and 86; see the penalties table).
• The transitional window has closed — affiliates with contracts in place on 1 August had to apply by 15 August 2026 (§ 35 of the transitional and final provisions of the same Act).

Do you need a gambling affiliate licence? A three-question test

The Act does not license gambling advertising as such, only a particular way of paying for it. Under § 1, point 30 of the supplementary provisions, an affiliate operator is a person, other than the gambling operator, who promotes gambling under a contract or arrangement in return for a commission linked to results. Point 31 defines that commission as remuneration paid by the operator against pre-agreed performance indicators: players referred, deposits, bets or any other measurable outcome.

1. Do you promote gambling? — through a website or domain, a mobile app, a social media account, or a video or streaming channel.
2. Are you paid by a gambling operator? — directly or through a partner programme. The NRA guidance expressly treats membership of an affiliate partner programme as an arrangement.
3. Does the amount depend on an outcome? — CPA per registered or depositing player, revenue share, a percentage of stakes, or a bonus triggered by a sign-up target.

Three “yes” answers, for promotion aimed at Bulgaria, bring you within the regime; for foreign affiliates, see below. The Act itself draws the other side of the line: a provider of advertising, media or technical services is not an affiliate operator where its fee is not linked to those results (§ 1, point 30, second sentence of the supplementary provisions). The NRA guidance adds that the link may be direct or indirect.

Our advice: read the payment formula, not the title of the contract. If a schedule, KPI sheet or email exchange ties the amount to sign-ups or deposits, an “advertising services” agreement may be recharacterised as an affiliate agreement. Disguise costs more: where a sham transaction conceals a performance-linked commission, the variable fee is 20% of the concealed amount (Article 30a(7)).

Foreign affiliates: the authorised representative requirement

The Act does not say when a foreign affiliate is treated as targeting Bulgaria — for example, an English-language comparison site that is also accessible from Bulgaria. In our view, language, domain, currency and audience will matter, but until there is practice the question is open and needs case-by-case analysis. If you are within the regime, a foreign individual or company can be licensed directly (Article 4(7)); there is no requirement to set up a Bulgarian entity. Instead, Article 4(8) requires a foreign applicant to declare, when it applies, an authorised representative who:

• has an address in Bulgaria;
• has authority to conclude contracts on the foreign person’s behalf;
• can represent it before Bulgarian public authorities and courts.

In our view, the representative will in practice receive NRA correspondence, and the deadlines for curing defects in an application are short (see below). We recommend a power of attorney that lists the steps before the NRA and the courts expressly, and a separate agreement with the representative that sets out how and when it will be told about new contracts and channels. New or terminated contracts must be reported immediately (NRA guidance, section II); changes in the particulars recorded in the certificate, which in our view include new channels, within 14 days (Article 38a).

A second constraint matters for affiliates whose partner brands hold licences elsewhere, for example in Malta: promotion is lawful only for operators licensed under the Bulgarian Gambling Act (Article 4(9)). Promoting a brand without a Bulgarian licence is a separate breach under Article 9(20) and a ground for final withdrawal of the licence (Article 86(1)(13)). Some affiliates still choose a local company for banking or tax reasons — see our guide to company registration in Bulgaria.

Applying to the NRA: documents, channels and deadlines

Applications are made on the standard form published on the NRA gambling documents page (in Bulgarian). The process runs as follows:

1. Collect your contracts. Copies of every current contract or arrangement under which you promote gambling for a performance-linked commission go with the application (NRA guidance, section II).
2. List every channel. Websites and domains, mobile apps, social media accounts, and video and streaming platforms used for gambling promotion must all be declared (Article 23(10) and the NRA guidance).
3. Appoint a representative — foreign applicants only (Article 4(8)).
4. Translations and power of attorney. Under the notes to the NRA form, documents in a foreign language, contracts included, must come with a Bulgarian translation made under the Bulgarian rules on legalisation and translation of documents. If an agent files the application, a notarised power of attorney is attached. The form also lets you consent to electronic service of NRA notices; we recommend giving it, as the deadlines are short.
5. Grounds for refusal. No licence is granted if the applicant, or the individual representing it, has been convicted of an intentional offence prosecuted by the State and has not been rehabilitated; if, within the last 12 months, its affiliate licence has been withdrawn or a penalty under Article 97c or Article 105(2)–(3) has become final against it; or if its licence or registration as an affiliate has been withdrawn or terminated in another country (Article 8(6)). The criminal record of foreign nationals and that last point are established by the applicant’s declaration; the criminal record of Bulgarian nationals and the other grounds are checked by the NRA of its own motion (Article 8(7)).
6. NRA review. The NRA completes its review within seven days of receipt. If the file is incomplete, it notifies the applicant within three days and allows seven days to cure the defects (Article 23(10)).
7. Annual fee and certificate. Where the licence is granted after 31 March, the EUR 6,000 annual fee is paid before the certificate is collected (Article 30a(2)). The certificate records the addresses of your channels (Article 34(4)(3)). Activity may start only once you hold it (Article 29(2)). It is handed over within two working days after the decision becomes final (Article 29(4)), and at the applicant’s express request provisional enforcement of the decision may be allowed (Article 29(5)).

After the licence is granted: what to report

• Any change in the licensed particulars — within 14 days (Article 38a). The NRA guidance links this to the particulars recorded in the certificate.
• A new or terminated contract — immediately, with a copy (NRA guidance, section II).
• A new channel, such as a new social account or domain — channel addresses are recorded in the certificate (Article 34(4)(3)), so in our view a new channel must be reported within the 14 days.

Licence term and extension

The Act sets no separate term for affiliate licences. The general rule in Article 26(3) is five years, or a shorter period if the applicant expressly asks for one. An extension request must be filed no later than two months before expiry (Article 36(5)). If the draft bill is adopted, the question falls away (see below).

The EUR 6,000 + 10% fee: who pays, who withholds and when

The licence maintenance fee is a two-part state fee under Article 30a (as of 2026):

Worked example: Alpha Ltd is an affiliate. In November 2026 an operator accrues a EUR 40,000 CPA commission payable to Alpha. The operator withholds EUR 4,000 (10%), files the electronic return and pays the amount over by 15 December 2026. Had the parties dressed the same payment up as a flat advertising fee while it in fact depended on deposits, a finding of a sham transaction would put the variable element at EUR 8,000 (20%). The Act does not pro-rate the annual element, so in our view an affiliate licensed in November 2026 pays EUR 6,000 before collecting the certificate and another EUR 6,000 by 31 March 2027 if the regime is still in force.

The Act uses the verb “withhold”. In our reading, the 10% therefore comes out of the amount due to the affiliate, much like a withholding tax. The parties are free to negotiate a higher commission rate to offset it, but that is a commercial matter, not one the Act settles. The Act also sets the tax treatment of commissions on which the variable fee has been paid: the accounting revenue, or income, from them is not recognised for tax purposes under the Corporate Income Tax Act and is non-taxable income under the Personal Income Tax Act, and the related expenses are likewise not recognised under the Corporate Income Tax Act (Article 30a(8)). This does not apply where a sham transaction conceals the commission, including where the 20% fee under para. 7 has been paid (Article 30a(9)). For broader tax questions, see our tax guide for iGaming and casino affiliates and our article on taxation of influencers and content creators.

Penalties: what affiliates and operators risk

Section V of the NRA guidance speaks directly to licensed operators. They must work only with licensed affiliates and can check an affiliate’s status in the register under Article 20(1)(3), published on the NRA website (in Bulgarian, as an Excel file). Under the guidance, operators may not pay commission to affiliates that lack a valid licence or fall outside the transitional regime under § 35. For the operator’s own licensing framework, see our guide to online gambling licensing in Bulgaria.

Before withdrawing a licence, the NRA must send a notice and allow one month to stop the breach; if the breach is stopped and its effects remedied, the measure is not applied (Article 86a). Withdrawal applies regardless of fines and pecuniary sanctions (Article 86(4)).

Compliance checklist for operators

1. Map your partners — every affiliate, streamer and comparison site paid on results.
2. Check the register — before the first payment and periodically afterwards, recording the date. Section V of the NRA guidance also calls for a documented trail of contracts, payments and checks.
3. Update the contracts — a warranty that the affiliate is licensed, a duty to report immediately if the licence is terminated or withdrawn, and a right for the operator to terminate.
4. Set up the withholding — a finance process to withhold the 10% and file the monthly return by the 15th.
5. Stop payments to unlicensed partners, including under legacy agreements.
6. Review affiliate creatives against the advertising restrictions in Article 10.

In our view, it is usually simpler to build affiliate checks into the procedures operators already run under the AML rules for gambling operators than to run them as a separate process.

The advertising rules still bind licensed affiliates

A licence is not a pass on gambling advertising rules. Article 10(9) requires affiliate promotion to be organised in line with the Act’s advertising restrictions, and a breach is separately punishable under Article 105(3) and can lead to temporary withdrawal of the licence (Article 85(1)(2a); see the table above).

For the substance of those restrictions, see our overview of the gambling regulatory framework in Bulgaria. We advise every affiliate to keep a dated archive of published content: in an inspection, what counts is what was published, not what the contract says.

The draft bill: affiliate licences could end on 1 January 2027

On 23 September 2026 the Ministry of Finance published a draft act amending the Gambling Act for public consultation, with comments due by 23 October 2026. The draft was notified to the European Commission under the technical regulations procedure (TRIS) as No. 2026/0536/BG and received by the Commission on 2 October 2026. The draft has not been adopted, and as of 21 October 2026 none of it is in force. For affiliates, the published text provides:

• § 79 — affiliate operator licences already issued would be terminated with effect from 1 January 2027;
• § 1 — Article 1(3) would be repealed, so affiliate promotion would cease to be a licensed activity;
• § 7(2) — Article 9(19) and (20) (the prohibitions) would be repealed;
• § 19 and § 42 — Article 30a (the fee) and Articles 97b and 97c (the sanctions) would be repealed;
• § 8 — a new Article 10 would ban advertising of gambling, of gambling operators and of their trade marks and distinctive signs, whatever the form, means or place, subject to listed exceptions (for example information on the operator’s own website, and sponsorship);
• § 52 — publishing, broadcasting or distributing such advertising would attract a fine of EUR 10,000–20,000 or a pecuniary sanction of EUR 20,000–50,000, doubled for a repeat breach;
• § 74 — administrative penalty proceedings opened by 31 December 2026 would be completed under the current rules;
• § 82 — the act would enter into force on 1 January 2027, with listed exceptions.

We found no provision in the published text for refunding fees already paid. Nor did we find a rule on the variable fee for commissions accrued in December 2026, whose return falls due on 15 January 2027, by which time Article 30a would already have been repealed.

What this means in practice

The draft is not law. After the consultation it must be approved by the Council of Ministers and passed by the National Assembly, and the text may change on the way. Until then the current regime applies in full, sanctions included. In our view, if the draft were adopted in its September 2026 form, affiliate marketing aimed at Bulgaria would in effect be prohibited, and promotion would be treated as advertising carrying higher penalties.

Our advice to both sides:

• avoid long exclusivity commitments without an exit for a change in the law;
• add a change-in-law clause covering suspension of payments and accrued commission;
• budget the EUR 6,000 fee for 2027; if the current regime has not been repealed by 31 March 2027, the fee is due on time regardless of the pending bill.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

As of October 2026, anyone who promotes gambling in Bulgaria for a commission from a gambling operator tied to sign-ups, deposits, bets or another measurable result needs a gambling affiliate licence. For foreign affiliates, whether the activity is aimed at Bulgaria needs case-by-case analysis. The licence costs EUR 6,000 a year plus 10% of the commission. An operator that works with an unlicensed affiliate faces a pecuniary sanction of up to EUR 20,000 (doubled for a repeat breach) and, if it files the monthly return for the 10% late, a temporary withdrawal of its own licence (after an NRA notice giving one month to remedy the breach, Article 86a). The draft bill could end the regime from 1 January 2027, but until then the rules apply in full. We therefore recommend reviewing your agreements now and making them workable under either scenario.