The Bulgarian Government is launching a campaign against gambling addiction, with snowboarders Malena Zamfirova and Tervel Zamfirov named as ambassadors.
The initiative was officially presented by Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov following a meeting with Health Minister Mihail Okoliyski and the two athletes.
Gyurov described gambling addiction as a major public health issue and said the Government is pursuing a wider strategy that goes beyond restrictive measures, focusing on prevention and education.
He added that Malena and Tervel provide a positive example for young people.
Meanwhile, Okoliyski highlighted plans to create a new fund to support prevention and treatment programmes for gambling addiction, with rules for grant applications to be introduced soon. The fund was first announced earlier this month.
The Ministry of Health has already introduced several responsible gambling measures, including a new eHealth mobile application that provides information on gambling addiction and available support services.
Recent updates from the Bulgarian market saw the Ministry of Sport motion to replace members of the Sports Totalizator (BST) management board, as the previous management team supported policies aimed at transferring BST – a state-owned entity – into private ownership.
The Sofia Court had confirmed the legality of the management change, providing legal certainty.
The new management, led by Executive Director Tervel Penkov, restored the company’s operational continuity and stability within one week.
In 2025, BST reported a 10.6% year-on-year increase in total revenue to BGN 472m ($278.8m), while revenue generated for the state rose by 10.2% to BGN 104m.
According to data from the Bulgarian National Revenue Agency, nearly 50,000 people are currently registered in the self-exclusion register
