Published on: December 30, 2025, 08:43h.
Updated on: December 30, 2025, 08:49h.
Bulgaria may have stumbled upon a remarkable new healthcare phenomenon: a hospital experience so revitalizing that nearly 4,000 patients managed to visit casinos — a staggering total of 22,000 visits in 2025 alone.
As reported by Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency, 3,890 individuals officially recognized as hospitalized were noted to have entered casinos during their stays in the first half of 2025.
This potential insurance fraud scheme was not uncovered by chance. In 2025, the National Revenue Agency began a partnership with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), which oversees Bulgaria’s universal healthcare system, diligently cross-referencing hospital admissions with casino attendance data.
The outcome? A revelation beyond their expectations.
Code Red Alert!
The NHIF has initiated a comprehensive investigation. Nevertheless, until the inquiry concludes, the agency’s deputy director advises caution.
“Let’s hold off on labeling these as fraudulent hospitalizations just yet,” stated Prof. Momchil Mavov in an interview with sbcnews.co.uk. “This is merely one hypothesis we’ve been examining … for the past six months.”
The worry is that several hospitalizations might not have occurred at all. There are schemes where con artists exploit someone’s identity to fabricate false hospital admissions, subsequently billing the NHIF for medical services that were never rendered.
Additionally, Mavrov pointed out that some instances might involve patients simply leaving the hospital without authorization — a breach of medical protocols, yet not necessarily indicative of organized fraud.
Under Bulgaria’s gambling regulations, every casino patron must present a valid identification, and casino operators are required to upload visitor logs — alongside real-time deposit and payout information — directly to the National Revenue Agency’s data servers.
Mavrov indicated that these dubious hospitalizations may have resulted in a financial burden of approximately $4.2 million (in USD) on taxpayers during the initial six months of 2025.