Bulgaria holds a worrying European record.
Youth gambling participation in Bulgaria remains moderate at 23% — lower than Italy (45%) and Greece (36%). But 8.7% of young people aged 15–16 are at risk of gambling addiction, according to the ESPAD 2024 study — the highest share in Europe.
The real problem is not only how many young people gamble. The problem is that in Bulgaria, young people develop risky and addictive gambling behaviour faster and more systematically than anywhere else in Europe.
Key facts
- The gambling sector represents around 3–4% of Bulgaria’s GDP — one of the highest ratios in Europe.
- In 2023, 5.79 billion leva were paid out in winnings — a 147% increase compared with 2022.
- More than 41,000 citizens are registered for voluntary self-exclusion.
- Losses often reach amounts equal to several years of income.
Debt and social impact
Gambling addiction leads to:
- escalating personal debt;
- job loss;
- social isolation;
- family breakdown;
- anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
Even people registered for self-exclusion can often still access gambling platforms.
Institutional paralysis
Every year, millions of leva are allocated for the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction.
But these funds remain blocked because Bulgaria lacks a working regulatory framework.
Bulgaria has almost no specialized treatment centres for gambling addiction. As a result, tens of thousands of people are left without real help.
The European context: a missed opportunity
The revised Consumer Credit Directive — Directive (EU) 2023/2225 — must be transposed by November 2025.
It aims to:
- strengthen creditworthiness assessments;
- restrict irresponsible lending that fuels addiction;
- require Member States to set up debt advisory services;
- allow caps on interest rates and credit costs.
Bulgaria’s double burden
While Europe moves forward, Bulgaria is left with:
- no transposition of the directive;
- unused prevention funds;
- no specialized treatment infrastructure;
- weak enforcement of self-exclusion.
Meanwhile, young Bulgarians continue falling into addiction and debt faster than their peers elsewhere in Europe.
European comparisons
- Latvia: 6.4% addiction risk — active prevention systems.
- United Kingdom: 2.8% — specialized centres, cognitive behavioural therapy, and helplines.
- France: 2.9% — national addiction network and strict advertising regulation.
- Sweden: 4% — targeted programmes, including for women, who make up 64% of patients.
Call to action
Bulgaria has the financial resources. It also has a clear European framework through CCD2.
What is missing:
- political will to release existing funds;
- urgency to transpose the directive by November 2025;
- creation of specialized treatment centres;
- establishment of a debt advisory network.
With the highest youth gambling addiction risk in Europe and a European instrument designed to protect consumers from over-indebtedness, inaction is no longer an option.