Online gambling in Moldova: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Moldova?

Since 2017 the organization of lotteries, sports betting, slot halls and all online gambling in Moldova has been a state monopoly managed by the joint-stock company Loteria Națională a Moldovei (LNM), which needs no licence. LNM runs online betting and lottery through 7777.md under a public-private partnership signed in April 2018 with NGM Company for fifteen years. Private companies may only operate land-based casinos, licensed by the Public Services Agency. A near-total gambling advertising ban from 2022 was partially relaxed in late 2024, thousands of unlicensed sites are blocked, and in September 2026 the Government proposed a 6% levy on gambling deposits and lottery tickets from 2027.

State monopoly: A state or single licensee runs online gambling; private operators cannot be licensed.

Who regulates gambling in Moldova?

• Agenția Servicii Publice (Public Services Agency) (ASP) — Licensing body for the only private gambling activity, land-based casinos, under Law 160/2011 and Law 291/2016
• Serviciul Fiscal de Stat (State Tax Service) (SFS) — Receives data from the state online monitoring system, supervises tax compliance of the lottery, its partner and casinos, and collects the withholding tax on winnings
• Ministerul Finanțelor (Ministry of Finance) (MF) — Sets gambling policy and taxation; sponsored the 2024 advertising amendments and the 2026 fiscal policy package

Moldova gambling licence: how it works

Article 6 of Law 291/2016 on the organization and conduct of gambling provides that all gambling activity in Moldova, except the maintenance of casinos, is a state monopoly exercised through Loteria Națională a Moldovei, a wholly state-owned joint-stock company whose activity is not subject to licensing. Article 43 expressly assigns sports betting to LNM. The lottery develops its lottery and betting business, including online, through a public-private partnership contract concluded on 23 April 2018 with NGM Company SRL, a Moldovan company owned by NGM SPC Ltd, which operates the 7777.md platform on LNM's behalf. The only route for private capital is a land-based casino licence issued by the Public Services Agency for five years, with foreign ownership capped at 49% of the share capital according to local advisers. No online licence for private operators exists and none is planned.

What an applicant needs

• Online betting, online casino, lotteries and slot halls: no private licence; operated only by Loteria Națională a Moldovei and its contracted partner
• Land-based casino licence from the Public Services Agency under Law 160/2011, valid five years and renewable
• Casino licensees must be Moldovan legal entities; local advisers report a 49% cap on foreign participation in the share capital
• Casinos connect to the state online monitoring system that transmits transaction data to the State Tax Service
• Operators withhold the tax on player winnings and file monthly returns

Gambling taxes in Moldova

• Operators: Loteria Națională a Moldovei pays corporate income tax at 12% and 6% tax on dividends, and transfers most of its profit to the state; casinos pay the annual per-table licence fees plus corporate income tax (2026).
• Players: 18% final withholding tax on gambling winnings under the Tax Code; for lotteries and sports betting only the part of each win above 1% of the annual personal exemption is taxed. The operator withholds the tax at payout.
• Also: On 8 September 2026 the Government approved its 2027 fiscal policy, which introduces a 6% levy on funds deposited into gaming accounts and on lottery ticket prices; it requires parliamentary approval and the Ministry of Finance has indicated the treatment of the state lottery may differ.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

A near-total ban on gambling advertising applied from 2022. Amendments adopted in late 2024 allow advertising of low-social-risk games on television and radio between 22:00 and 07:00 and during live national sports broadcasts, and in periodicals up to 15% of the issue, provided at least 20% of the advertising space carries messages on the harm of gambling. Online and outdoor advertising of sports betting remains prohibited, and only the monopoly operator may advertise.

Responsible gaming

Players must be 18 or older. The monopoly operator's rules require registration, identity verification and account limits, and the law restricts the location and number of slot halls; a formal national self-exclusion register is not yet in place.

Identity and age verification

Players on 7777.md register with identity documents and are verified before withdrawals; every stake and payout is logged in the central monitoring system reported to the State Tax Service. Casinos identify customers under the AML law.

Payments

Deposits and withdrawals for the monopoly platform run through Moldovan banks, cards and the operator's retail network. Payment processing for any other online gambling operator has no lawful basis, and the authorities block thousands of unlicensed domains. Crypto is not a permitted gambling payment method.

Notable restrictions

• All gambling except land-based casinos is a state monopoly of Loteria Națională a Moldovei
• No private online licence exists; unlicensed sites are blocked
• Online and outdoor advertising of sports betting is prohibited; broadcast advertising only between 22:00 and 07:00 and during live sport
• Foreign participation in casino companies is capped, according to local advisers, at 49%
• A 6% levy on gambling deposits and lottery tickets is proposed from 2027

Moldova iGaming market: size, players and payments

Loteria Națională a Moldovei reported revenue of 197.56 million lei in 2023, up from 170.26 million lei in 2022 and 105.56 million lei in 2021 (Logos Press); the Minister of Finance said the company earned about 290 million lei of profit in 2025 and paid about 100 million lei to the budget.

Sports betting accounted for 46 million lei, or 27% of the lottery's revenue, in 2022 (Logos Press).

There is one lawful online operator: 7777.md, run by NGM Company on behalf of Loteria Națională a Moldovei. Private competition exists only among licensed land-based casinos.

Timeline: how Moldova got here

1. 2011Loteria Națională a Moldovei receives the state monopoly on lotteries
2. 2016-12Law 291/2016 extends the monopoly to sports betting, slot halls and online gambling; in force from 2017
3. 2018-04LNM signs a 15-year public-private partnership with NGM Company to develop lotteries and betting, including online
4. 2022Parliament bans gambling advertising almost entirely
5. 2024-12Amendments partially relax the advertising ban for broadcast media and live sport
6. 2025Law 291/2016 amended several times, including changes effective 1 January 2026
7. 2026-09Government approves 2027 fiscal policy with a 6% levy on gambling deposits and lottery tickets, pending Parliament

Outlook

Parliament must decide on the 6% levy before it can apply in 2027, and the Ministry of Finance is working with the Public Services Agency and operators on faster blocking of unlicensed sites so that players do not migrate away from the monopoly. EU accession work has already softened the advertising ban and could bring further alignment, but demonopolization is not on the agenda: the LNM partnership runs to 2033.

GameBridge and Moldova

Not served by GameBridge. Online gambling in Moldova is a state monopoly with a single contracted platform, so no GameBridge brand can lawfully serve Moldovan residents; the country is excluded by geo-controls by default and this page exists so compliance teams can verify the status quickly.

Moldova sits on GameBridge's default exclusion list, and brand geo-controls block Moldovan IP addresses, identity documents and payment instruments at registration and deposit. GameBridge does not describe or support routes to players in a monopoly market. Russian is available as a site language for markets where GameBridge brands do operate, but it is not used to target Moldova. If the state lottery or its partner ever sought platform or content supply from third parties, GameBridge would assess that as a B2B conversation with counsel, separate from any B2C brand.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Law of the Republic of Moldova No. 291 of 16 December 2016 on the organization and conduct of gambling (consolidated) — CIS Legislation, accessed 2026-09-11
• 7777.md – Condiții generale (Loteria Națională a Moldovei / NGM Company) — Loteria Națională a Moldovei, accessed 2026-09-11
• Gambling Sector In The Republic Of Moldova — Gitlan Law, accessed 2026-09-11
• Bookmakers are brought to the light for European integration purposes — Logos Press, accessed 2026-09-11
• Guvernul propune o taxă de viciu de 6 la sută pentru jocurile de noroc — Moldpres, accessed 2026-09-11
• Taxa pentru jocurile de noroc și lupta cu site-urile ilegale — Telex.md, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.