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On 21 February 2012 the Administrative Court in Sofia confirmed a penal provision issued on 12 May 2010 by the Chairperson of the State Commission on Gambling (SCG) which imposed an administrative penalty on Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile, joint-stock company Globul. The penalty amounted to BGN 50,000 (EUR 25,564) for organising and conducting the gambling game Големият кеш (“The Big Cash") (during the period September-December 2009) without permission from the SCG. The Court accepted the game "The Big Cash" was gambling. The organising and conducting of that game without prior permission from the SCG are...

According to Art. 2a of the Culture Protection and Development Act, which entered into force in 2006, the Council of Ministers shall adopt a National Strategy for the Development of Culture upon the proposal of the Minister of Culture. For more than five years the Ministry had not even offered any conception of such a Strategy, but now, there is a real chance to have the draft of a Strategy by 1 July 2012. The Strategy is being drawn up in a partnership between the Ministry of Culture and other Government institutions and representatives of civic and cultural organisations. More than 150 people...

On 26 January 2012, the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) issued Decision No. 143 which authorises the regulator to grant a permit to TV Evropa for analogue broadcasting in the territory of Sofia. The news television channel shall have an opportunity to broadcast on the frequencies of channel No. 43 which had got involved in scandals. So far, the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) has used it to broadcast a regional programme emanating from the capital - BNT2. In 2009, BNT received permission to come on air when CRC was providing temporary permits for analogue broadcasting in Sofia. At...

On 29 December 2011, a change was made to the Electronic Communications Act (SG, No 105/29.12.2011, in effect since 29 December 2011). Terrestrial analogue television broadcasting in the Republic of Bulgaria will be suspended on 1 September 2013 (see IRIS 2008-4/13). Thus, this again enables television broadcasters who have not participated in the competition and have no programme licences (these licences exist according to § 5 of the Transitional and Final Provisions of the Electronic Communications Act - ECA) to claim, within the next 20 months, unfair competition against those that have licences...

On 29 December 2011, a new section in the chapter on “Licensing and Registration of Operators” in the Radio and Television Act entered into force. It is titled “Registration of Radio and Television Operators that Produce Programmes Addressed to the Audience beyond the Territory of the Republic of Bulgaria”. The purpose of this addition was to fill the gap in Bulgarian legislation concerning programmes that are produced in Bulgaria, but are transmitted outside Bulgaria via an electronic communication network for terrestrial or satellite broadcasting located in Bulgaria (see IRIS 2011-7/12). For...