In order to overcome gambling addiction, the National Revenue Agency maintains a Register of Vulnerable Persons. Those registered in it are not allowed to gamble. In addition to maintaining the register, the revenue agency takes a number of actions to prevent and limit gambling addiction. Last year, the National Revenue Agency and the Customs Agency united their campaigns against drug and gambling addiction under the common name "You are not alone". The start of the united campaign was given in the summer with a grand concert in Nessebar in front of more than 30,000 people. Within the framework of "You are not alone" over 5,000 students from all over the country learned about the dangers of drug use and the risks of developing a gambling addiction from November 2024 to the present. Ambassadors of the united campaign visited more than 50 schools in Sofia and throughout the country and gave presentations to adolescents about the serious consequences of developing addictions. A large part of the students also witnessed a demonstration of searching for drugs by employees from the "Fighting Drug Trafficking" department at the "Customs" Agency with trained customs dogs, in which some of the students also participated. Information about the campaign can be seen on the profiles of "You Are Not Alone" on Tik-Tok and Instagram, the channels of the two revenue agencies on YouTube and Twitter (Х), on Rakuten Viber, as well as on the NRA pages on Facebook and LinkedIn. Alexander Popov spoke to FACTI on the topic Director of the Directorate “ Supervision of Gambling and Gambling Activities“ at the NRA.
- Mr. Popov, what is this “Register of Vulnerable Persons“ when we talk about gambling? How many people are in it?
- This is a list of persons who have submitted an application for registration to the NRA, as they believe that they cannot control their desire to participate in gambling. Nearly 54,000 citizens have so far requested that the NRA register them.
- What are the steps for registration in the Register and deletion from the register?
- Any citizen can register in the register after submitting a request using a form to the Executive Director of the NRA on site at an office of the revenue agency or by email ([email protected]), in which case the document must be signed with an electronic signature. The request may specify a specific period for which the entry is to be made, which cannot be shorter than one year. Deletion from the register is carried out at the request of the registered person by completing and submitting a new request to the executive director of the NRA using the aforementioned form or when the period specified therein for entry has expired, and if not specified - after 12 months from the date of entry.
- How old are they?
- Gambling is prohibited for persons under 18 years of age. For this reason, all those entered in the register are over this age.
- Who maintains and provides access to the register?
- The register of gambling-vulnerable persons is maintained by the NRA. The register is not public, and only a limited number of employees designated by the Executive Director of the National Revenue Agency have access to it.
- How can a person be made to register voluntarily?
- Registration is voluntary and fully informed. Therefore, the requirement is that the request be submitted in person or through a power of attorney issued specifically for this purpose.
- What happens after a person registers?
- Organizers of gambling games are obliged to prevent persons registered in the register from participating in gambling games. If such a person, despite the ban, is allowed to gamble, it is necessary to report it to the Information Center of the Revenue Agency at the following telephone numbers: 0700 18 700 and +359 2 9859 6801, in order to carry out an immediate check.
- Only officials designated by the Executive Director of the National Revenue Agency, as well as employees designated by the organizers of gambling games, have access to the data in the list. How do they work with people?
- When a person wants to participate in gambling games, gambling operators check the register of vulnerable persons. This is done through an electronic service that enables gambling operators to exchange information directly and automatically with the revenue agency through a software key (API key), which establishes a “system-system“ connection between the business software and the NRA. If it is determined that the person is entered in the register, they are obliged to prevent him from participating in gambling.