BULGARIA GAMBLING COMMISSION BITES

03/22/2012 : BULGARIA GAMBLING COMMISSION BITES
 
Takes action against activity outside of regulatory boundaries
 
The Bulgarian State Commission on Gambling has taken mobile operator Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile (Globul) to court over a question and answer game played via text messaging over a four month period in 2009 and won.
 
Subscribers of three mobile operators Mtel, Globul and Vivacom who played “The Big Cash Game” sent in excess of 14.6 million short text messages each costing BGN 1.2 excl VAT which totaled BGN 17.5 million.
 
The Sofia City Administrative Court imposed a fine that will have Globul paying BGN 50 000 (GBP 21 282) for failing to obtain a permit and the subsequent illegal running of the game and BGN 1.3 million (GBP 553 362) for corporate tax evasion.
 
According to Bulgarian news agency Sofia, the company faces further costs of BGN 15 000 for a claim review and BGN 20 000 for the issue of a licence.
 
Globul has reportedly announced its intention to appeal the decision in a higher court.