Bulgaria eyes Eurozone to curb grey economy and illegal gambling

Bulgaria joining the Eurozone would be a major step forward in tackling the grey economy and bringing to light the large amounts of illegal gambling money moving through society, according to Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov. Speaking at a discussion hosted by the National Centre for Information and Documentation, which focused on fighting addiction among young people, Zafirov was quoted by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

Zafirov called addictions “one of the most serious challenges of our time,” adding, “we cannot rely on repression alone; education and full institutional engagement are necessary.” He pointed out that gambling addiction is becoming an increasing threat to national security. “I am certain that universities are the places where this battle can be realized,” he added.

In a Facebook post (translated to English), Zafirov then added: “Ways must be found to significantly limit it, and eventually put an end to it in the future, with education being an inseparable part of prevention, the upbringing process, and the fight against such phenomena.”

Bulgaria hopes to join Eurozone to tackle serious gambling crimes

Deputy Minister of the Interior Filip Popov stressed that illegal gambling often paves the way for other serious crimes, including drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, and human trafficking. “The entire criminal sector is funded by illegal gambling money,” he said. Popov explained that it’s very challenging for the Ministry of Interior to tackle these activities effectively because many of the servers running illegal gambling websites are based in other countries, making them difficult to monitor or shut down.

The Deputy Minister stated that the illegal gambling market also leads to more traditional types of crime, and a lot of the offenders are actually minors who sign up on these sites. He said that many of these kids end up developing antisocial behavior because of their addiction, and some even start committing crimes like robberies and assaults.

According to Popov, the issue needs to be tackled first through changes in legislation and stronger cybersecurity efforts. But for any of that to really work, he stressed that schools and universities have to be involved too.

Fighting cybercrime through education and training

“It is not common for the legislative and executive branches to address this problem,” said Prof. Dr. Miglena Temelkova, Chair of the Council of Rectors in Bulgaria. She said that universities play a key role in educating and training the people needed to fight cybercrime. One of the biggest challenges, according to Temelkova, is that universities often have to rely on foreign experts for this training and end up paying international companies to provide it.

“A student who hasn’t trained on a cybersimulator cannot cope with the work,” she added. Temelkova suggested that by working together with the legislative and executive branches, they could develop a Bulgarian-made simulator specifically designed to address the types of crime seen in Bulgaria. “The work of the Ministry of Interior is extremely important,” she continued.

The Chair of the Council of Rectors said that they face addiction issues among students daily. “Very often, students run out of money because of drug or gambling addiction,” added Temelkova. She added: “It’s important not only that we supply personnel to the institutions, but also that your personnel conduct discussions in the universities.”

Featured image: Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov via Facebook

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