Online gambling in Romania: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Romania?

Government Emergency Ordinance 77/2009 and Government Decision 111/2016 govern the market; the Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc (ONJN) issues Class 1 licences to operators and Class 2 licences to suppliers, affiliates and payment processors. Emergency Ordinance 82/2023 required a Romanian company or a permanent establishment booking all Romanian gambling revenue and raised the online responsible-gambling contribution to EUR 500,000 a year. Law 141/2025, in force from 1 August 2025, set a flat EUR 300,000 annual licence fee, lifted the online authorization tax from 21% to 30% of GGR with a EUR 480,000 minimum and raised player withholding. Bills to raise the gambling age to 21 and curb online advertising were pending in September 2026.

Regulated: Private operators can hold a local licence for online casino and/or betting.

Who regulates gambling in Romania?

• Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc (National Gambling Office) (ONJN) — Licensing and authorization of B2C operators (Class 1) and B2B suppliers (Class 2), supervision, blacklist of unlicensed domains, self-exclusion register and sanctions
• Ministry of Finance (Ministerul Finanțelor) and ANAF (MF) — Fiscal legislation, collection of gambling taxes and enforcement of tax guarantees; ONJN is subordinated to the Ministry

Romania gambling licence: how it works

A B2C operator needs a Class 1 licence, valid for ten years, and an annual authorization for each online product (sports betting, casino, poker, bingo, lottery-type games, virtual events). Since 6 October 2023 only a company registered in Romania, or an EU, EEA or Swiss company with a Romanian permanent establishment booking all gambling revenue, may hold the licence. The file includes an IT audit and game certification by Class 2-licensed laboratories, safe and mirror servers in Romania where the main server is abroad, AML and responsible-gaming procedures and a bank guarantee. The ONJN Supervisory Committee meets about twice a month; the statutory 30-day decision term is usually exceeded. Every platform, game, payment and affiliate supplier needs its own Class 2 licence.

What an applicant needs

• Company registered in Romania, or an EU/EEA/Swiss company with a Romanian permanent establishment booking all Romanian gambling revenue
• Class 1 licence (10 years) plus an annual authorization per online product
• IT system audit and certification of software, RNG and RTP by Class 2-licensed laboratories
• Safe and mirror servers located in Romania with secure ONJN access where the main gaming server is abroad
• Bank guarantee securing tax obligations, increased substantially by GEO 82/2023
• AML program under the 2022 AML Instructions, KYC at registration and a Money Laundering Reporting Officer
• Use of Class 2-licensed platform, content, payment and affiliate suppliers only

Gambling taxes in Romania

• Operators: Authorization tax of 30% of GGR for online gambling since 1 August 2025 (21% before), minimum EUR 480,000 a year; flat EUR 300,000 annual licence fee; EUR 500,000 annual responsible-gambling contribution; 0.5% of GGR to the National Cultural Fund; plus 16% corporate income tax on the Romanian entity or permanent establishment.
• Players: Withholding tax at each withdrawal since 1 August 2025: 4% on amounts up to RON 10,000; RON 400 plus 20% of the excess between RON 10,000 and RON 66,750; RON 11,750 plus 40% of the excess above RON 66,750.
• Also: Land-based fixed-odds betting moved to 25% of GGR under Law 141/2025. The 2025 increases applied to authorizations already in force without grandfathering, and the Court of Accounts' 2026 audit reported large authorization-tax gaps in 2024.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Permitted with limits: bonus advertising only on the operator's own site, licensed affiliates' sites and opted-in messages; TV advertising only between 11 pm and 6 am under the Audiovisual Code revised in mid-2025, except betting promotion during live sports; outdoor materials capped at 35 square meters and banned near schools, places of worship and cultural sites; and, since 7 October 2025, no celebrities, athletes or online influencers. A Senate-approved bill to ban online gambling advertising from 6 am to midnight awaited the Chamber of Deputies in September 2026.

Responsible gaming

Minimum age 18 (a Senate-approved bill to raise it to 21 was pending in 2026). ONJN holds the national register of self-excluded and undesirable persons with real-time operator access; the duty applied to land-based operators by late 2025 and was being extended online in 2026. Operators fund prevention through the EUR 500,000 annual contribution and must display responsible-gaming messaging.

Identity and age verification

Identification and verification at registration under the 2022 AML Instructions, with risk-based standard or enhanced due diligence, transaction monitoring, record retention and reporting to the AML authority. Winnings must be paid within three business days once the player's documents are in order.

Payments

Deposits and withdrawals run through Class 2-licensed payment processors to accounts in the player's name, and the operator withholds the winnings tax at each withdrawal. Crypto is not accepted by licensed operators. ONJN's blacklist exceeded 1,600 domains in 2025 and binds ISPs and payment processors; since Law 141/2025 B2B licensees must also block access from Romania to unlicensed operators.

Notable restrictions

• Romanian company or Romanian permanent establishment required for B2C licences
• Lottery games reserved for Loteria Română (Class 3 licence)
• All suppliers, affiliates and payment processors need a Class 2 licence
• Bonus advertising restricted to owned and affiliate channels; TV adverts 11 pm to 6 am
• No celebrities or influencers in gambling advertising since 7 October 2025
• Players using unlicensed sites face fines of RON 5,000 to RON 10,000

Romania iGaming market: size, players and payments

The Court of Accounts audit published in July 2026 reported 2024 stakes of RON 96.1 billion and declared GGR of RON 19.1 billion, RON 9.8 billion of it from 37 online operators; ONJN collected RON 4.3 billion in licence and authorization revenue in 2024. theiGaming.eu estimates 2026 online spend near EUR 3 billion, about 71% of all gambling revenue.

National Bank of Romania payment data cited by theiGaming.eu put 2023 online gambling spend at about RON 12.5 billion, roughly ten times Romania's weight in the world economy.

Traffic to the leading licensed sites is 84–92% mobile according to theiGaming.eu's 2026 domain analysis.

Superbet, majority-owned by Blackstone since 2025, leads with about 41% of tracked traffic; Betano and Casa Pariurilor follow, then Unibet, eFortuna, Winbet, Mozzartbet, Stanleybet, Maxbet and Netbet. ONJN regulated 751 gambling operators and 442 Class 2 licensees at the end of 2024.

Timeline: how Romania got here

1. 2009-06Government Emergency Ordinance 77/2009 adopted as the primary gambling law
2. 2013ONJN created as the national regulator
3. 2015Law 124/2015 approves the online licensing framework and the first Class 1 online licences are issued; GD 111/2016 details procedures the following year
4. 2023-10GEO 82/2023 in force: Romanian company or permanent establishment required, EUR 500,000 responsible-gambling contribution, higher guarantees
5. 2024-04Law 107/2024 limits slot-machine venues to localities of at least 15,000 inhabitants; GEO 80/2024 of 28 June 2024 details enforcement
6. 2025-04Vlad-Cristian Soare appointed ONJN president after audit findings
7. 2025-08Law 141/2025 in force: 30% GGR online tax, EUR 300,000 flat licence fee, higher player withholding, B2B blocking duties
8. 2025-10Ban on celebrities and influencers in gambling advertising takes effect on 7 October
9. 2026-02Senate approves bills to raise the gambling age to 21 and ban online gambling advertising from 6 am to midnight
10. 2026-07Court of Accounts publishes its ONJN audit: 2024 GGR RON 19.1 billion, RON 9.8 billion online, weak server access

Outlook

Parliament has made gambling reform a 2026 priority. The Chamber of Deputies must still decide the Senate-approved bills on a 21-year minimum age and a 6 am to midnight online advertising ban, one coalition party wants ONJN's supervisory powers curtailed after the audit, and the deficit program keeps further tax increases on the table. Local councils keep shrinking the land-based estate, with slot machines in operation down to 29,014 in 2026 from 45,659 in 2025.

Launching in Romania with GameBridge

Turnkey (your licence, our platform). The Class 1 licence must sit with a Romanian company or permanent establishment, so the operator holds the licence and runs on GameBridge technology. Platform and content suppliers to a Romanian licensee need ONJN Class 2 licences, which must be in place before go-live; GameBridge holds no Romanian Class 1 licence.

A Romanian brand on GameBridge runs in Romanian with a RON wallet, geo-controls that admit Romanian residents only after identity verification, and mirror servers in Romania with secure ONJN access. The cashier connects cards, bank transfers and wallets through Class 2-licensed processors, withholds the tiered winnings tax at every withdrawal and pays out within three business days. Registration and login query the ONJN self-exclusion register, marketing tools confine bonus advertising to owned and affiliate channels and respect the broadcast and influencer bans, and the catalog is limited to games certified by Class 2 laboratories, with GameBridge Studios and Originals shipping the certification package those laboratories need.

• Romanian site language and RON wallet
• Mirror server in Romania with ONJN secure access
• Tiered winnings-tax withholding at withdrawal and three-day payout rule
• Self-exclusion register connectivity and responsible-gaming messaging
• Bonus and advertising controls aligned to owned-channel and broadcast rules
• Monthly 30% GGR authorization-tax reporting and guarantee tracking
• Certification package for GameBridge Studios and Originals versions

Romania is a football and slots market with strong live casino demand; the aggregated catalog brings the studios already certified for Romanian licensees, GameBridge Studios exclusives ship with laboratory documentation, and the GameBridge sportsbook carries the Superliga and European football calendar.

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.

• Raport anual de activitate ONJN 2024 — Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc, accessed 2026-09-11
• Gaming Law 2025: Romania, Trends and Developments — Chambers and Partners, accessed 2026-09-11
• Romania Gambling License Class 1 (B2C): fees, timeline, requirements — Szilaghi Consulting, accessed 2026-09-11
• Audit ONJN: Românii au mizat peste 96 miliarde lei la jocuri de noroc în 2024 — Mediafax, accessed 2026-09-11
• Romania's Senate approves bills to raise gambling age and restrict online advertising — theiGaming.eu, accessed 2026-09-11
• Romania iGaming 2026: EUR 3bn online, tax hikes, local bans — theiGaming.eu, accessed 2026-09-11
• Romania iGaming market: size, operators and outlook — theiGaming.eu, 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.