Bulgaria is planning to take a step towards tightening its gambling regulations in football, as the authorities are preparing to put forward a norm that would prohibit any individual, who is part of the game of football, from making a bet on football matches.
The heads of the Bulgarian Football Union are working on a draft that would introduce a total prohibition on football betting for players, coaches, and other staff. BFU General Director Andrey Petrov and BFU President Georgi Ivanov are the ones most probably going to present the concept. The proposal is scheduled to be discussed and approved at a plenary session in Sofia on March 20.
At present, there are already certain restrictions regarding betting laid down in the BFU Disciplinary Regulations. Nevertheless, the football body plans to make these rules a part of its formal statutes. Such an initiative will not only legally enforce the side of the restriction but also make these rules a fundamental and permanent feature of the Bulgarian football framework.
The changes aim to update the legal system, whose initial steps were taken back in 2018.
Under the revised wording, the rule would clearly state:
It is forbidden for all football players, coaches, and staff in the Bulgarian football ecosystem to organize or participate in any kind of wagering or gambling related to football.
Aside from the prohibition on betting, the newly suggested changes will increase the Bulgarian Football Union’s authority over different commercial aspects of sport. If the offer is approved, the federation will be able to conduct exclusive commercial activities related to BFU-approved matches and competitions. The main activities are distribution of media marketing communication, and digital rights related to such events. The problem of sports data and betting-related information plays an important role in the proposal.
The BFU plans to have the final say on this data and decide on the manner of its release. Sports betting operators would have to obtain sublicenses to receive live match data feeds and pay fees for them. Companies supplying data like Sportradar and Genius Sports might also fall under the scope of the new rules.
The proposal was made after the latest change of the organization’s leadership. Ivanov became BFU president in 2024, taking over from Borislav Mihaylov who had been the federation’s leader for more than a decade.
