Kostov, leader of the right-wing Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB), stated that the current taxes on gambling companies fail to contribute significant amounts to the state budget. Photo by BGNES
Former PM and leader of the Bulgarian rightist DSB party, Ivan Kostov, has called for a ban on all forms of gambling in Bulgaria.
Kostov, leader of the right-wing Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB), stated that the current taxes on gambling companies fail to contribute significant amounts to the state budget. He added that the damage gambling cause to Bulgarian society is huge.
"People who lobbied to keep gambling free of excise duties lied that this would bring higher revenue to the Budget and that the state would get money in return. I support the idea of a complete ban on gambling in Bulgaria, because it doesn't bring revenue, causes damage and probably the only people who benefit from it are the gambling bosses," Kostov said.
Last Thursday, the Bulgarian government approved a plan to introduce identical tax rates for all games of chance. Thus, the state lottery and private fixed-odds sports betting bookmaker Eurofootball will pay 12 per cent instead of 10 per cent of their betting turnover.
Eurofootball reacted by stating that the changes will mean the industry in Bulgaria will lose BGN 30 M in 2010 and that many companies will face bankruptcy.