Status checked: 8 October 2026.
Bulgaria could end its licensed gambling affiliate model if its new draft law passes unchanged. According to SBC News, the proposal would end active affiliate licences from 1 January 2027 and sharply restrict gambling advertising.
The proposal is still under consultation. The official consultation page lists 23 September to 23 October 2026 as the consultation period. For casino and sportsbook affiliates targeting Bulgaria, the immediate task is to check which traffic and commissions could be affected.
Key takeaways for affiliates
The ban is proposed. The consultation was active when checked on 8 October 2026.
Affiliate licences are directly at risk. SBC reports a proposed termination date of 1 January 2027, subject to adoption.
Review your Bulgarian acquisition channels. Casino reviews, bookmaker comparisons, referral links and creator promotions need attention where they promote gambling.
Separate your revenue questions. Future referrals, earned-but-unpaid commission and future RevShare from existing players need different answers.
Get written guidance before committing more budget. Ask operators about permitted activity, contracts and their response if the draft passes.
What Bulgaria is proposing
SBC describes a broad advertising ban covering gambling games, operators and their branding across online and offline channels. Its report identifies narrow exceptions for operator-owned information, premises signage and some sports sponsorship activity.
For an affiliate publisher, those exceptions need careful reading. Permission for an operator's own website or a sponsored sports organisation would not automatically cover an independent comparison site. A publisher would need a valid basis for its own activity.
The commercial concern is straightforward: a website can retain its audience while losing a permitted way to refer that audience to gambling operators. Search rankings alone cannot protect its affiliate revenue.
What happens to existing affiliate licences?
This proposal follows a recent change in the opposite direction. SBC's August report says Bulgaria's affiliate licensing framework became active on 1 August 2026.
The new draft reportedly proposes removing that regime. GAME Spectrum's analysis also identifies cancellation of issued affiliate licences from 1 January 2027 if the text is adopted unchanged.
A licence held today would not protect an affiliate from a later change in the law. The proposal itself does not cancel licences now. Existing rules still apply while the draft is being considered.
Sources: the official consultation dates and GAME Spectrum’s report on the proposed licence end date.
Which publisher activities need a closer look?
Start with the parts of your business that promote gambling to Bulgarian audiences:
Casino and sportsbook reviews with referral links.
Rankings, bonus pages and comparison tables that direct readers to operators.
Social posts, videos, streams and other paid or commission-based promotions.
These are practical review categories, not a claim that the final law will treat every page identically. The wording of the adopted law and how it applies to your content will matter.
Organic search traffic also needs review. The source of a visit does not settle whether the page it lands on is advertising. Nor should an overseas publisher assume that its location exempts promotions targeting Bulgaria.
How CPA, RevShare and Hybrid revenue could be affected
If permitted referral activity is restricted, fewer new players could mean less commission. The table shows what to check under each deal. It does not predict how an operator will handle payments.
Revenue stream | What could be exposed | What to ask your affiliate manager |
|---|---|---|
CPA | Fewer permitted referrals could mean fewer qualifying acquisitions. Pending players may not yet have met every condition. | How would you handle players referred before any cutoff who qualify later? |
RevShare | New player acquisition could stop. Future commission from existing players would require a separate legal and contract review. | Can commission on existing player groups continue, and under which terms? |
Hybrid | Both the CPA component and future revenue share could be affected. | Will you confirm the treatment of each component separately? |
Earned but unpaid commission | Settlement could become disputed if the parties disagree about qualification or termination terms. | What balance is approved, when is it payable, and which deductions remain possible? |
Do not budget on either automatic loss or automatic continuation of existing-player commission. Ask for the contractual basis and check it against the final rules. Paynura's Revenue Share guide explains why the revenue base and agreement matter.
What affiliates should do before the rules are final
Check how much depends on Bulgaria. Split traffic, first-time depositors (FTDs), commission and unpaid balances by GEO and operator. Separate revenue from existing players from revenue that depends on new referrals.
Save the records behind your payments. Keep dated reports, approved balances, agreements and operator notices. They help establish what was earned and which terms applied.
Request a written plan from each operator. Ask which activity is currently permitted, how changes would be communicated and what could happen to tracking, pending CPA and existing-player RevShare. Commercial approval should be checked against applicable law.
Keep future spending flexible. Review long content commitments and placements that would be difficult to change. If you assess other markets, check their licensing, advertising and operator eligibility separately. Paynura's GEO guide is a useful starting point.
Follow the next official steps. Watch the consultation response, any revised text, parliamentary action, publication of an adopted law and NRA guidance. 23 October 2026 is the consultation deadline. 1 January 2027 is the reported proposed date for ending affiliate licences, subject to adoption. Neither date means that every payment question has been settled.
FAQ
Has Bulgaria already passed this affiliate ban?
The official page listed the proposal as under active consultation when checked on 8 October 2026. The draft discussed here should not be presented as an enacted affiliate ban. Existing licensing and advertising requirements remain relevant.
Would removing affiliate links make a review site compliant?
Removing links would not, by itself, establish compliance. A page can still promote an operator through its wording, branding or commercial purpose. Publishers need an assessment of the content and the rules that apply to it.
Would all existing RevShare payments stop on 1 January 2027?
That conclusion cannot be drawn from the reported licence-termination proposal alone. Already-earned commission and future commission from existing players are different questions. Their treatment needs to be checked against the adopted law and the affiliate agreement.
Plan your next market decision with the terms in front of you
Before committing more resources to Bulgaria, establish which revenue is exposed and what each partner would do if the proposal passes. That gives you a firmer basis for campaign and budget decisions.
Speak with a Paynura affiliate manager about GEO eligibility, permitted traffic sources and commission terms when assessing your next casino or sportsbook partnership.