Bulgaria Cracks Down on Money Laundering in Gambling with New Unit

Bulgaria is stepping up its fight against money laundering in the gambling industry. The country’s National Revenue Agency (NRA), which oversees the gambling sector, has set up a new unit to monitor and enforce compliance in the market.

The Anti-Money Laundering (AML) unit is part of the NRA and will focus on identifying and preventing financial crimes related to gambling, such as money laundering and terrorism financing. The unit will collect and verify documents, assess risks, and report any suspicious activities (such as international transactions and operations), to the relevant authorities.

Bulgaria is taking these actions because it is considered a high-risk country for financial crimes across various sectors, including gambling. 

In May 2022, Bulgaria was put on the gray list of countries that need enhanced monitoring by Moneyval, a body under the Council of Europe that evaluates anti-money laundering measures.

If Bulgaria does not show progress, it could face more scrutiny and checks from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which Moneyval is part of.

The NRA became the gambling regulator in 2020, after the government disbanded the State Commission on Gambling.