Best Betting Sites in Bulgaria 2026

By Sarah Murphy · UK & Northern Europe Editor at Goralbet · Updated June 2026 · 18+. Bet responsibly.

I've followed Bulgarian betting since the early 2010s, but the story of how this market works in 2026 starts with a single law signed in the summer of 2020 that nobody in Sofia thought would ever pass. On 4 August 2020 the State Gazette (Държавен вестник, issue 69) published the Act Amending the Gambling Act that abolished the State Commission on Gambling (Държавна комисия по хазарта, ДКХ) outright after a Sofia City Court case linked several of its senior officials to the criminal investigation of businessman Vasil Bozhkov, the so-called "Skull" prosecution that became Bulgaria's biggest corruption scandal of the decade. Four days later, on 8 August 2020, the entire regulatory machine of Bulgarian gambling moved into a directorate of the National Revenue Agency (Национална агенция за приходите, НАП) under the Ministry of Finance, licensing, supervision, the public register, the blacklist and the tax-collection rail all consolidated under one roof for the first time in Bulgarian history. In the same scandal the state-controlled Bulgarian Sports Totalisator (БСТ) had its lottery products suspended in mid-2020, and the state lottery did not properly resume until 2022. That reform reset the entire competitive landscape, and the operators best positioned to absorb the shock were the four Bulgarian local champions that had built deep retail networks in the 2010s: Eurofootball (the first private bookmaker in Bulgaria, licensed in 1990), Winbet, Efbet and Sesame. According to Semrush traffic data for March 2026, winbet.bg pulled roughly 10.6 million monthly visits, with PalmsBet around 4.85 million and Efbet about 2.46 million, the local books take the top three slots and the international brands fight for what's left. Roughly 25 active Class I sports-betting licences sit on the NRA register, the GGR tax is 20%, and the Bulgarian lev (BGN) is hard-pegged to the euro at 1.95583 under the long-running currency-board arrangement that has held since 1997 and is now the spine of Bulgaria's scheduled euro accession. This page ranks the best betting sites in Bulgaria for 2026 against that backdrop. Comparison table first, then operator data, then the full TOP 25 with honest pros and cons. Verify every operator on the NRA public register before you deposit.

Search "най-добрите букмейкъри 2026" and you'll get the same eight brands rotated across thirty Bulgarian-language affiliate sites. I've kept funded accounts at Winbet, Efbet and a handful of the licensed challengers, run the offshore alternatives through Bulgarian mobile-data IPs (Vivacom, A1 Bulgaria, Telenor Bulgaria) and timed real withdrawals on each. I rank on what matters once you've signed up: First League (Първа лига, often referenced under the efbet League sponsorship deal) market depth on CSKA Sofia, Levski Sofia, Ludogorets Razgrad and Botev Plovdiv, the four clubs that carry most of Bulgarian betting handle; Bulgarian national team coverage after the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign and the slow rebuild under recent coaching changes; Champions League and Europa League pricing during Ludogorets group-stage runs, where the club has been Bulgaria's most consistent UEFA performer for a decade; volleyball depth, where the Bulgarian men's and women's national programmes remain a genuine European force and where local books cover the European Volleyball League and CEV competitions in ways no offshore brand matches; wrestling around the Bulgarian Olympic tradition and the European Championships; tennis around Grigor Dimitrov's deep ATP runs; and BGN payout speed through UniCredit Bulbank, DSK Bank, Postbank (Eurobank Bulgaria) and the BORICA-operated card and instant-transfer rails.

Best betting sites in Bulgaria 2026: comparison table

How Bulgaria got from a State Gambling Commission scandal to a single-regulator regime: the 2020 reform

You cannot read Bulgaria's 2026 betting market without the 2020 reform. The short version: through the 2010s the State Commission on Gambling (Държавна комисия по хазарта) was the licensing and supervisory body, set up under the 2012 Gambling Act as a five-member independent commission appointed by the Council of Ministers. The system worked on paper but bled credibility as the decade wore on, and the trigger event was the prosecution of businessman Vasil "the Skull" Bozhkov in January 2020 on charges including leading an organised criminal group, tax evasion and bribery linked to the operation of national lottery games. Several senior officials connected to the commission came into the criminal investigation's frame, and the political consensus in the Bulgarian Parliament (Народно събрание) shifted decisively against keeping a standalone gambling regulator alive.

What changed in August 2020:

• State Commission on Gambling abolished. The Act Amending the Gambling Act was published in State Gazette No. 69 on 4 August 2020 and entered into force on 8 August 2020. The five-member SGC was wound up, its assets transferred to the NRA, its register of operators consolidated into the NRA's directorate system, and its outstanding cases re-docketed under the agency.
• NRA assumes single-regulator powers. The National Revenue Agency took over licensing, supervision, blacklist maintenance, gambling-tax collection and the public register. For the first time in Bulgarian history, the same authority that issues a Class I sports-betting licence also collects the 20% GGR on that operator and enforces the perimeter against unlicensed competition. The integration shortened communication lines for operators and gave the state a clearer view of revenue leakage to offshore.
• State lottery products suspended, then restructured. The Bulgarian Sports Totalisator (БСТ), the state-controlled lottery operator, had its core products suspended during the upheaval. The 2021 amendments confirmed the BST as the exclusive state monopoly for lottery products, with private operators barred from offering classical lottery except for narrowly defined raffles, bingo, keno and their variants. The state lottery did not properly resume operations until 2022.
• Article 86 blacklist enforcement strengthened. The NRA inherited and tightened the unauthorised-operators blacklist, with Bulgarian ISPs obliged to DNS-block listed domains and Bulgarian banks required to refuse listed payment endpoints. The blacklist has grown materially since 2020 and now covers most of the offshore operators that previously served Bulgarian residents from Curaçao or Malta-grey routes.
• Compliance modernisation. The NRA brought the gambling supervision function inside the same compliance and audit infrastructure used for VAT, corporate tax and excise, a single agency with experience in cross-border tax enforcement, EU-mandated reporting, and access to bank-payment-rail data through the BNB and BORICA.

Practical takeaway: Bulgaria has moved from a fragmented and compromised regulator to a single high-capacity tax authority running gambling supervision. The 20% GGR rate is mid-tier by EU standards (well below Romania's post-reform 27% and Greece's 35% on certain product categories, broadly in line with the Czech default) and the licensed Bulgarian operators are profitable enough to invest in genuine product engineering, Winbet's app and Palms Bet's online product compete fairly with the better CEE international brands. The local champions, Eurofootball, Winbet, Efbet, Sesame, dominate because they had retail networks the offshore brands could never replicate, and because Bulgarian punters historically prefer cash deposit through ePay terminals and EasyPay shops over card-only flows.

Operator data at a glance: regulated NRA-licensed Bulgarian sportsbooks

Numbers below are in Bulgarian lev (BGN) and current at publication. Withdrawal speeds are for Bulgarian bank transfer once your account is fully KYC-verified with a Bulgarian national identity card (лична карта) or EU passport. BGN is hard-pegged to the euro at 1.95583, so a 50 BGN minimum is roughly 25.50 EUR.

Operator data: offshore international books (use with caution)

These bookmakers appear on most English-language Bulgarian listicles. None of them holds an NRA licence. The NRA actively maintains the Article 86 blacklist of unauthorised operators, with Bulgarian ISPs obliged to DNS-block listed domains and Bulgarian banks required to refuse the listed payment endpoints. Reach is patchy via VPN and Bulgarian-bank card acceptance varies week to week. I include them because honest framing matters.

How welcome offers and T&Cs actually work in Bulgaria

Bulgarian advertising rules for licensed gambling operators sit roughly mid-EU. The NRA permits promotional advertising by licensed operators provided materials carry the required 18+ disclaimer, the responsible-gambling notice ("Играй отговорно"), do not target minors or self-excluded persons, and comply with the specific content rules issued by the regulator. Outdoor advertising and broadcast restrictions were tightened in the post-2020 period as part of the wider integrity push. What you'll typically find inside an NRA-licensed sportsbook:

• Безплатен залог (free bet) versus deposit match. Most Bulgarian welcome offers are free bets, they pay winnings but not stakes. A 50 BGN free bet at 2.00 returns 50 BGN in cash, not 100 BGN. Deposit matches exist (Winbet, Efbet and Palms Bet all run them seasonally) but rollover and minimum-odds conditions reduce expected value meaningfully.
• Minimum odds thresholds. Qualifying selections typically need decimal odds of 1.50 or higher. Below the threshold the bonus does not release.
• Rollover / залагане. Free bets are typically 1× play-through. Deposit-match offers usually carry 3× to 6× rollover on the bonus.
• Expiry. Free bets typically expire in 7 to 30 days. Unused credit is forfeited.
• Eligible payment methods. Some operators exclude Skrill, Neteller and paysafecard from welcome-offer eligibility. ePay and EasyPay deposits are usually eligible across the licensed Bulgarian field.
• Bulgarian KYC enforced before first withdrawal. NRA-licensed operators must verify a Bulgarian national identity card (лична карта) or EU passport, an address proof matching the registration address, and the deposit method before processing any withdrawal. Subsequent withdrawals clear faster once the account is verified.
• Player taxation. Recreational gambling winnings in Bulgaria are generally not taxable at the player level for casual punters, the 20% GGR is paid by the operator on its margin. Professional gamblers and large structured winnings may fall into different categories under personal income tax law; speak to a Bulgarian accountant if that's you.

My rule of thumb: judge offers by their rollover, minimum-odds threshold, expiry and payment-method eligibility, not by the headline BGN figure. A 50 BGN free bet at 1× rollover is mathematically worth significantly more than a 200 BGN deposit match at 6× rollover.

How I tested these Bulgarian betting sites

No theory. The five things that decide whether a Bulgarian sportsbook is worth your deposit.

Market depth (First League, Champions League, Bulgaria national team, volleyball, wrestling, tennis)

Bulgarian football coverage starts with the First League (Първа лига, branded under various sponsorship deals across recent seasons including the efbet League title). The handle concentrates on four clubs: CSKA Sofia (the old army club, multiple-time champion), Levski Sofia (the Plovdiv-derbied capital rival with the deepest Bulgarian fanbase), Ludogorets Razgrad (the Champions League regular and the country's most consistent UEFA performer of the 2010s and 2020s), and Botev Plovdiv. Winbet posts genuinely deep markets across moneyline, both teams to score, over/under 2.5, half-time/full-time, first goalscorer, exact score, asian handicap and bet-builder combinations on every First League match. Champions League and Europa League depth concentrates on Ludogorets group-stage runs, the club's qualifying-round campaigns draw outsized handle on the licensed Bulgarian books. The national team's Euro 2024 qualifying campaign drew the deepest specials I've seen at Bulgarian books in a decade. Volleyball deserves special mention: Bulgaria's men's and women's national volleyball programmes are a genuine European force, and the licensed Bulgarian books cover the European Volleyball League and CEV competitions with depth that no offshore brand matches. Wrestling, both freestyle and Greco-Roman, sits inside the Bulgarian Olympic tradition and gets meaningful coverage during the European Championships and Olympic cycles. Tennis remains a top product around Grigor Dimitrov's ATP runs.

Odds and pricing

Promotions get the headlines, prices compound. Winbet and Palms Bet post the tightest margins on First League and Bulgarian-team markets, typical two-way moneyline pricing at 1.90-1.93. Efbet and Eurofootball are competitive on mainstream football but a touch wider on niche European leagues. International brands (bet365, bwin) carry slightly wider margins on Bulgarian-specific markets but match the European leaders on Premier League, Champions League and the Big Five. Offshore Pinnacle is sharpest in absolute terms but the deposit-friction, ISP-blocking risk and lack of NRA recourse narrow the value advantage materially for everyday punters.

Payments and withdrawal speed (ePay, EasyPay, instant transfer, cards)

Bulgaria's payment stack is unusually retail-friendly for an EU member. ePay and EasyPay, the two domestic non-bank payment networks operating through tens of thousands of physical terminals and shops across the country, handle a meaningful share of gambling deposits and withdrawals, particularly for unbanked or under-banked punters. Bulgarian-issued Visa Debit and Mastercard cards from UniCredit Bulbank, DSK Bank (OTP Group), Postbank (Eurobank Bulgaria), First Investment Bank (Fibank) and Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria are universally accepted across the licensed Bulgarian field, with the BORICA-operated domestic card scheme handling Bulgarian-issued transactions natively. Apple Pay and Google Pay are supported across the top tier. Retail cash deposit and withdrawal through the Efbet, Eurofootball and Winbet shop networks is genuine and useful. Crypto remains rare at licensed Bulgarian operators and is almost entirely an offshore option.

App and live betting

Live betting on a phone is where most Bulgarian bettors live. Winbet's app is the strongest in the licensed Bulgarian field, well-engineered, fast on mid-range Android handsets, good live-streaming coverage on First League and select international fixtures. Palms Bet is solid and improving. bet365 Bulgaria ports the global flagship app for in-play and live streaming, which remains best-in-class internationally. Live streaming rights vary by competition and most smaller licensed books rely on third-party feeds.

Licensing and trust

Non-negotiable. I cross-check every operator against the NRA public register and confirm Class I licence status before recommending. Licensed Bulgarian sportsbooks publish their NRA authorisation reference on the homepage footer; if they don't, walk away. I flag offshore books explicitly with the regulatory caveats. You decide whether sharper pricing offsets the loss of consumer protection.

Top 25 betting sites in Bulgaria: ranked, reviewed, with pros and cons

1. 22bet: biggest global market spread (offshore)

22bet is owned by Marikit Holdings in Cyprus on a Curaçao licence. If you want sheer variety, 22bet covers an enormous range of sports and leagues plus esports and a deep casino, with full in-play. Bulgarian-language interface is available. The minimum deposit drops to 1 €. Crypto and e-wallet payouts in 15 minutes to a few hours; Bulgarian-bank card deposits work patchily. The flip side: no NRA licence, the brand is in the regulator's blacklist enforcement crosshairs, Bulgarian-bank cards may decline at the cashier, and you sit outside Bulgarian consumer protections. Goralbet affiliate.

2. BetLabel: crypto and modern payments all-rounder (offshore)

BetLabel launched in 2023, operated by TechSolutions Group on Curaçao and Kahnawake licences (No. 000882). It sits in the same stable as National Casino and Bizzo. The sportsbook is powered by BetBy and covers 30+ sports including esports, with live streaming where licensing permits and partial cash-out on most singles. Offshore in Bulgaria, no NRA licence. Goralbet affiliate.

3. Ivibet: casino-led with esports (offshore)

Ivibet has served European markets since 2022, operated by TechOptions Group on Curaçao and Kahnawake licences (No. 00996, issued April 2025). Casino-first with 6,000+ games, but the sportsbook covers 30+ sports plus a solid esports board. Payments include ecoPayz, MuchBetter, Neosurf and 15+ cryptocurrencies. Crypto payouts cleared in around 90 minutes in testing. Offshore in Bulgaria. Goralbet affiliate.

4. BetRepublic: newer offshore all-rounder

BetRepublic is a newer offshore sportsbook and casino sharing one wallet. Cards, Skrill, Neteller and crypto. My Skrill withdrawal cleared in under 72 hours; crypto faster. It includes a responsible-gambling self-assessment tool, which is more than most small offshore brands offer. Main concern is licensing transparency, details are not clearly displayed. Offshore in Bulgaria. Goralbet affiliate.

5. KingMaker: casino and sportsbook combo (offshore)

KingMaker debuted in 2024, operated by NovaForge Limited on an Anjouan licence (ALSI-152406028-F12). Casino and sportsbook share a wallet, and the sportsbook covers 40+ sports with strong esports depth. Payments are wide: cards, Jeton, MiFinity and crypto, with a higher minimum than peers. Bitcoin payouts under an hour; card payouts around 24 hours. Anjouan is among the weaker licensing jurisdictions in the global regulatory landscape. Goralbet affiliate.

6. Winbet: Bulgarian market leader, ~10.6M visits/month, deepest First League

If you have watched any First League match in Bulgaria in the last decade or any CSKA Sofia or Levski derby, you have seen Winbet's branding. Winbet AD is the dominant force in Bulgarian sports betting, Bulgarian-owned, online-strong with a meaningful retail extension, and according to Semrush traffic data winbet.bg pulled roughly 10.59 million monthly visits in March 2026, more than the next three Bulgarian operators combined. NRA licensed under the Class I framework. The product reflects the scale: the strongest app in the licensed Bulgarian field, sharp pricing on First League and Champions League with two-way moneyline margins around 1.90-1.93, deep volleyball coverage (the European Volleyball League and CEV depth that no international brand matches in Bulgaria), good live streaming on First League fixtures, full ePay and EasyPay integration, and same-day instant-bank-transfer payouts to all major Bulgarian banks. The downside is the dominance, when one operator runs that much of a market, niche-sport pricing competition softens, and cross-promotion that some punters find heavy. For most Bulgarian sports bettors, Winbet is the default.

7. Efbet: league sponsor, retail-strong heritage

Efbet is one of the Bulgarian local champions, founded in the mid-2000s and built into a major retail-online hybrid with roughly 600 shops nationwide. The brand has held the title sponsorship of the Bulgarian First League across recent seasons (efbet League) and is woven into Bulgarian football culture in a way no international brand can replicate. NRA licensed. The online product is good rather than great, but the retail-shop network is genuinely useful for cash deposit and withdrawal, and the Efbet brand recognition opens doors no challenger can match. Around 2.46 million monthly visits in March 2026 per Semrush traffic data.

8. Palms Bet: strong online product, fast payouts

Palms Bet is a Bulgarian-owned online-strong sportsbook and casino, NRA licensed, and the second-largest operator by traffic per Semrush March 2026 data (~4.85 million monthly visits). The online product is genuinely modern, clean app, good live betting, sharp First League pricing, fast instant-transfer payouts. Less retail footprint than Eurofootball or Efbet but the digital product compensates. A good choice for online-first Bulgarian punters who don't need branch deposit.

9. Eurofootball: the original (1990); deep retail network

Eurofootball deserves a special note. Founded in 1990, it was the first private bookmaker in Bulgaria after sports betting was legalised at the start of the transition era, and it built the country's first major retail-shop betting network. NRA licensed. Today the online product runs behind Winbet, Efbet and Palms Bet in user experience, but the retail-shop reach remains the deepest in Bulgaria, for many older Bulgarian punters Eurofootball is the default and the shop on the corner is where they place every wager. Worth knowing about even if the app isn't your first choice.

10. Sesame: Romanian-influenced Bulgarian challenger

Sesame is a Bulgarian-licensed operator with operational influences from Romanian gambling-industry experience, clean app, decent First League coverage, full BGN-native operation, ePay and EasyPay support. NRA licensed. The product sits in the second tier behind Winbet/Efbet/Palms Bet/Eurofootball on brand awareness but is a fair option for punters wanting a smaller licensed Bulgarian operator with a modern feel.

11. bet365 Bulgaria: in-play and live streaming, NRA licensed

bet365 holds an active NRA licence in Bulgaria, which is a meaningful differentiator, bet365 has withdrawn from a number of EU markets under regulatory pressure but has stayed Bulgarian-licensed and continues to serve Bulgarian residents through the local product. Best-in-class in-play interface and live-streaming library. Card payouts in 1-4 hours typically; PayPal supported. Markets are deep, and the global app ports cleanly. Bulgarian-language interface available.

12. bwin Bulgaria: Entain brand, locally licensed

bwin Bulgaria is the Bulgarian-licensed product of Entain plc, the FTSE-listed gambling group behind Ladbrokes-Coral, PartyPoker and a long stable of European brands. NRA licensed. Solid mainstream Liga Bulgaria, Champions League, Bundesliga and Premier League coverage, with the Entain product platform engineering that's been consistent across European markets. Paysafecard supported alongside cards and the main e-wallets.

13. 7777.bg: online-only Bulgarian operator

7777.bg is a Bulgarian online-only NRA-licensed sportsbook with a clean modern app and a focus on First League and Champions League. ePay and EasyPay supported. Smaller brand than Winbet/Efbet/Palms Bet but fair option for online-first punters.

14. Stanleybet Bulgaria: Italian-owned veteran, hybrid retail-online

Stanleybet is an Italian-owned veteran with operations across multiple European markets including Italy, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria. NRA licensed. The Bulgarian product runs a hybrid retail-online model with mainstream football and basketball coverage and consistent operational standards inherited from the group's Italian heritage. Solid but not standout.

15. 1xBet Bulgaria: Cyprus group, licensed local entity

1xBet operates in Bulgaria through a locally licensed entity, NRA Class I. The product carries the 1xBet platform's typical breadth, enormous market spread, 60+ sports including a wide esports board, live streaming where licensing permits, and a low 5 BGN minimum deposit. The brand has faced regulatory friction in several European markets and the global group structure raises legitimate compliance questions, so I'd suggest using the Bulgarian-licensed entity carefully and keeping balances modest. NRA register check before depositing.

16. Betano Bulgaria: Kaizen Gaming, CEE coverage

Betano is the Bulgarian product of Kaizen Gaming, the Greek group that has expanded aggressively across CEE and Latin America. NRA licensed. The product ports the group's polished CEE app and brings deep Greek Super League coverage on top of the standard First League and Champions League board, a nice differentiator for Bulgarian punters who follow Greek football. Apple Pay supported.

17. Inbet: smaller Bulgarian online brand

Inbet is a smaller Bulgarian-licensed online operator with modest market spread but a functional app and full ePay/EasyPay integration. NRA licensed. A fair option for punters wanting a smaller licensed Bulgarian alternative to the top four.

18. BetBG: local-language focus

BetBG is a smaller Bulgarian-licensed operator with a local-language focus and conservative product. NRA licensed. Fine for punters wanting a simple BGN-native operator, no surprises.

19. bet-at-home Bulgaria: Austrian group, Bundesliga focus

bet-at-home is the Austrian-listed group's Bulgarian product, NRA licensed. Strong Bundesliga and Austrian Bundesliga coverage as you'd expect from the group's home market, plus standard Premier League and Champions League depth. App is functional rather than polished. Skrill and Neteller supported.

20. Mozzart Bet Bulgaria: Balkan operator, regional coverage

Mozzart Bet is the Serbian-headquartered Balkan operator with a strong presence across the region, NRA licensed in Bulgaria. The product carries good Serbian SuperLiga, Croatian HNL and other Balkan-football depth alongside the standard Bulgarian First League and Champions League board, a nice differentiator for punters who follow Balkan football beyond Bulgaria.

21. Bulgarian Sports Totalisator: state lottery; pari-mutuel only

Bulgarian Sports Totalisator (Български спортен тотализатор, БСТ) is the state-owned lottery operator and holds the exclusive monopoly on lottery products in Bulgaria under the 2021 amendments to the Gambling Act. It is not a private bookmaker and does not offer the fixed-odds sports-betting products you'd find at Winbet or Efbet, instead it runs pari-mutuel sports-result games, classical lotto draws and similar state products. Worth knowing about because it is the only state-controlled lottery provider, and after the 2020-2022 suspension period (linked to the broader scandal that triggered the NRA reform) it has been operating again on a normalised basis since 2022.

22. NetBet Bulgaria: European group, mainstream depth

NetBet is operated by NetBet Enterprises Ltd, one of the longer-running European online betting brands, NRA licensed in Bulgaria. The product is solid across Liga Bulgaria, Premier League, Champions League and tennis, with broad European payment-method support (Skrill, paysafecard alongside cards). Mid-tier brand in Bulgaria.

23. Pinnacle: sharpest odds (offshore, no NRA licence)

The sharp bettor's choice globally. Pinnacle's pricing and limits are excellent, typical two-way moneyline margins under 2% on top football, and the operator does not restrict winning players the way most books do. Catch: offshore, no NRA licence, blacklist-targeted in Bulgaria, and you sit outside Bulgarian consumer protections.

24. Stake.com: crypto betting + esports (offshore)

Stake.com has been live since 2017 under a Curaçao licence. The reference point for crypto bettors globally, with broad coin support and strong esports coverage. Crypto-first with limited fiat. Crypto withdrawals near-instant, usually under 24 hours. Offshore in Bulgaria, no NRA licence. Weigh the lack of regulatory protection before depositing.

25. Parimatch: esports depth (offshore)

Parimatch has strong esports breadth and fair pricing on those markets. Support is the weak spot. Offshore in Bulgaria from a Curaçao licence. Outside Bulgarian consumer protections.

Best Bulgarian sportsbook by category

Best for First League (Първа лига)

Winbet for the deepest First League market spread, sharp two-way moneyline pricing at 1.90-1.93 on flagship fixtures, and live streaming on most top-tier matches.

Best for Champions League and Europa League

Winbet and bet365 Bulgaria share the top spot, Winbet for Bulgarian-team specials around Ludogorets group-stage runs, bet365 for in-play depth and live streaming on the full European fixture list.

Best for volleyball (Bulgarian Olympic-tradition sport)

Winbet for the deepest European Volleyball League and CEV coverage. No offshore brand matches it in Bulgaria.

Best for wrestling and Olympic combat sports

Efbet and Winbet for European Championships and Olympic-cycle coverage of freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Best for tennis

bet365 Bulgaria for ATP and WTA depth around Grigor Dimitrov fixtures, with the best in-play markets and live streaming where rights permit.

Best mobile app

Winbet for the most polished phone experience in the licensed Bulgarian field, with bet365 Bulgaria close behind on the global flagship product.

Best for fast withdrawals

Winbet and Palms Bet for the quickest instant-transfer payouts I logged, same-day on weekday business hours.

Best for high rollers

Pinnacle for top limits and sharp prices (offshore, no NRA licence, so see the caveat above). Among licensed Bulgarian books, Winbet handles the highest stakes with the least friction.

Best for casual or low-stakes bettors

1xBet Bulgaria for the 5 BGN minimum deposit and broad market spread, or Sesame for a clean simple Bulgarian-licensed alternative.

Best for retail-cash deposit

Eurofootball for the deepest retail-shop network nationwide, with Efbet's ~600 shops close behind.

Which Bulgarian teams and athletes can you bet on?

Across the major Bulgarian competitions and international fixtures, yes. The First League core is CSKA Sofia, Levski Sofia (the eternal capital derby), Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria's Champions League regular), Botev Plovdiv, Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Slavia Sofia and the rest of the 16-club top flight. The Bulgarian national team, historically a 1994 World Cup semifinalist with Hristo Stoichkov and one of the country's defining sporting moments, gets full coverage during European Championship qualifiers, World Cup qualifiers and Nations League. Champions League and Europa League depth peaks around Ludogorets campaigns. Bulgarian volleyball (men's and women's national teams) sits as a top-three betting product across the licensed field. Wrestling around the Bulgarian Olympic tradition, tennis around Grigor Dimitrov, and the Bulgarian basketball top flight round out the locally focused board, alongside full coverage of the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and other Big Five European leagues.

Timeline: the history of betting in Bulgaria

It helps to know how we got here, because the 2020 reform reset everything that came before. Dates below cross-referenced against the NRA register, the Ministry of Finance gazette archive, and contemporary reporting in Bulgarian and international gaming press.

NRA regulation: what Bulgarian bettors need to know

The 2020 reform consolidated everything into the National Revenue Agency (НАП). In practice, that means:

• Single regulator. NRA issues Class I sports-betting licences, supervises operator compliance, maintains the public register and the Article 86 blacklist, collects the 20% GGR tax, and coordinates with the BNB on payment-rail enforcement.
• Licensed operators only. Online sports betting in Bulgaria requires an active NRA Class I licence. Licensed operators publish their authorisation reference on the homepage footer; if an operator doesn't, walk away.
• 20% GGR tax. Operators pay 20% of gross gaming revenue to the state. Player-side taxation of recreational winnings is generally minimal under Bulgarian personal income tax law; speak to a Bulgarian accountant for professional-gambler edge cases.
• Blacklist enforcement. The Article 86 blacklist is actively maintained. Bulgarian ISPs DNS-block listed domains and Bulgarian banks refuse listed payment endpoints. Offshore brands are reachable via VPN in practice but with the friction and protection trade-offs that implies.
• State lottery monopoly. The Bulgarian Sports Totalisator holds the exclusive monopoly on lottery products. Private operators cannot offer classical lottery.
• BGN-EUR currency-board peg. The Bulgarian lev is hard-pegged to the euro at 1.95583. Stable currency-translation maths makes BGN-denominated bets effectively euro-denominated for cross-border price comparison, a stability advantage over markets with floating CEE currencies (Poland's złoty, Hungary's forint) where exchange-rate moves can erode realised value on long-held balances.

The Bulgarian betting market in numbers (2024 to 2026)

Two trends worth flagging. First, the local-champion concentration: Winbet, Palms Bet, Efbet and Eurofootball capture the overwhelming majority of Bulgarian licensed handle, with international brands fighting for the remainder. This is structurally similar to how Romania's Superbet runs ~40% of its market or how Greece's Stoiximan dominates the local handle, local heritage and retail-network reach plus first-mover online investment are extremely hard for offshore brands to displace. Second, the regulatory regime has stabilised since the 2020 reform: enforcement actions, blacklist additions and licensing transparency have all improved year-on-year, and the licensed Bulgarian market is in a more competitive, more punter-friendly state in 2026 than at any point in its modern history.

Quick facts: age, taxes and payments

• Minimum age: 18+ across all gambling products.
• Operator GGR tax: 20% of gross gaming revenue.
• Player taxation: Recreational gambling winnings are generally not taxable for casual punters under Bulgarian personal income tax law. Professional gamblers and large structured winnings may fall into different categories, consult a Bulgarian accountant if relevant.
• Currency: Bulgarian lev (BGN), hard-pegged to the euro at 1.95583 since 1997 under the currency-board arrangement run by the BNB.
• Payments: ePay, EasyPay, Visa Debit and Mastercard from the main Bulgarian retail banks (UniCredit Bulbank, DSK Bank, Postbank, Fibank, Raiffeisenbank), instant bank transfer, Apple Pay and Google Pay across the top tier, retail cash through Eurofootball/Efbet/Winbet shop networks, paysafecard at several operators. Crypto remains mostly an offshore option.
• Minimum deposit: 10 BGN at most NRA-licensed Bulgarian sportsbooks, 5 BGN at a handful of operators.
• Regulator: National Revenue Agency (НАП), under the Ministry of Finance.

FAQ: best betting sites in Bulgaria

My take: where I'd open my first account

This is my opinion as someone who covers Bulgaria from the UK desk and has been on these books since the 2020 reform reset the market. It's not a verdict, and not a push to bet. For most Bulgarian sports bettors the answer is Winbet, deepest First League market spread, strongest licensed Bulgarian app, best volleyball coverage in the country, sharp pricing on flagship football, and ePay/EasyPay/instant-transfer payment flexibility that matches the local rails. If you prefer the title-sponsor heritage and want a deep retail network for cash deposit, Efbet remains a strong second choice, the league brand is woven into Bulgarian football culture in a way no challenger can replicate. For online-first punters who want a modern product but a smaller brand than Winbet, Palms Bet is a fair alternative. For in-play and live streaming, bet365 Bulgaria stays NRA-licensed and ports the best global product. Whichever you pick, choose an NRA-licensed operator. The consumer protections, the dispute-resolution path through the NRA and the Ministry of Finance, and the blacklist-rail integrity are worth materially more than any headline offer from an offshore brand.

Sources and further reading

• National Revenue Agency (Национална агенция за приходите), Bulgarian gambling regulator since 8 August 2020
• Ministry of Finance of Bulgaria (Министерство на финансите), the parent ministry of the NRA
• Bulgarian National Bank (Българска народна банка, БНБ), the central bank operating the BGN currency-board arrangement
• National Assembly of Bulgaria (Народно събрание), where the August 2020 amendments to the Gambling Act were adopted
• State Gazette No. 69 of 4 August 2020, publication of the Act Amending and Supplementing the Gambling Act
• European Gaming Industry News, "Bulgarian Revenue Agency Assumes Power to Regulate Gambling" (August 2020)
• Semrush trending-websites data for Bulgarian gambling sites, March 2026 (traffic estimates cited above)