Reactions around the shock revision continue of the Law on Gambling, which provides for a 100% ban on gambling advertisements in the media, dariknews.bg reported.
Despite the vacation of the 49th National Assembly, the parliament is meeting in an extraordinary session and the texts are expected to be adopted in the second reading today.
In an official position, “Nova Broadcasting Group” states that the adoption of the texts in such unprecedentedly shortened terms and without discussion with the interested parties can seriously threaten the economic independence of the media.
And what's more - the unexpected and mid-year decrease in advertising revenue will threaten the television's programming scheme, including it may limit viewers' access to significant sports events. This year, NOVA acquired the rights to broadcast the European Football Championship - UEFA Euro 2024.
NOVA states that it hopes to find the most correct solution to the problem without jeopardizing the economic stability of the media, especially on the eve of early parliamentary and European Parliament elections.
The largest online group “Net Info” also came out with a position stating that the big losers from the complete ban on advertising of gambling games will be the Bulgarian electronic media and websites. The advertising budgets of gambling operators will not disappear, but will be redistributed and fully directed to other players in the digital market, the position also says.