About this app
What is Dark Spiral?
The bill would amend the Gambling Authority Act to align it more closely with the Financial Intelligence Act and Financial Action Task Force standards. Its memorandum says the changes are intended to strengthen anti-money laundering requirements and reduce financial crime risks.
The proposed amendments include provisions on beneficial ownership, financial and controlling interests, fit-and-proper-person assessments and know-your-customer requirements. They would also require Authority approval for the acquisition of a direct or indirect financial or controlling interest of 5% or more, unless a lower threshold is prescribed.
The bill would require most licence holders to link gambling machines and devices installed on their premises to the Gambling Authority’s statutory monitoring system. Casino and bingo licence holders would be required to install their own monitoring systems instead.
What is Dark Spiral?
However, the scheme has faced ongoing scrutiny and criticism. Clubs can direct the funds towards upgrading their own facilities, and there is no mandated verification for how the grant recipients must deploy the money.
The latest 2025 contribution report indicated that $127 million was awarded, with $53.3 million specifically allocated to sport-related organisations.
Caroline Lamb informed a recent review that the current responsibility of annually processing over 500 ClubGRANTS applications within a short time frame imposed significant constraints.
About Dark Spiral
Wazdan is already present in the Bulgarian iGaming market, which has been expanding rapidly over the past several years. Notably, the supplier has teamed up with WINBET and ELITBET in the past, two other prominent local operators, with SlyBet only adding to the company’s local footprint and momentum.
Wazdan Head of Sales and Business Development, Radka Bacheva, has welcomed the opportunity to see her company expand its clout in Bulgaria once again, with Bacheva adding:
“Partnering with SlyBet is an important step for Wazdan as we continue to grow in Bulgaria and across regulated European markets. We are always looking for new opportunities to bring our games to more players, and SlyBet gives us another great platform to showcase our portfolio.”
