How to get a gambling licence in Romania: fees and steps

Romania splits authorisation into two documents, both issued by the ONJN Supervision Committee. The licence vets and admits the operator; the authorisation is the annual right to operate and carries the main levy. You need both live at all times.

• Class 1 = business-to-consumer (B2C) online gambling (casino, betting, poker, bingo). Class 2 = business-to-business (B2B) suppliers (platform, management, payments, software/RNG). Class 3 = state lottery monopoly.
• An online B2C operator holds a Class 1 licence and must contract only ONJN Class 2-licensed suppliers for its platform, payments and certified games.
• The licence alone does not permit operation: no live betting or casino until the annual authorisation is also issued.

Laws that apply

• OUG no. 77/2009 on the organisation and operation of gambling (as amended)
• OUG no. 82/2023 (local-establishment reform), approved and amended by Law no. 107/2024
• OUG no. 80/2024 and Law no. 141/2025 (fiscal measures; fees, authorisation tax and player-winnings tax from 1 Aug 2025)
• Government Decision (HG) no. 111/2016 (methodological norms implementing OUG 77/2009)
• ONJN President Order no. 79/2025 (national self-exclusion procedure)
• Law no. 129/2019 on preventing money laundering (AML)
• Law no. 227/2015 Fiscal Code (withholding on gambling winnings)

This is the headline change: since OUG 82/2023 a registered Romanian permanent establishment is a condition of the right to organise gambling (art. 1(2)).

• The applicant must be a company registered in Romania or a legal entity lawfully constituted in an EU/EEA member state or the Swiss Confederation, and in either case must register a permanent establishment in Romania under art. 8 of the Fiscal Code (OUG 77/2009 art. 1(2), as amended by OUG 82/2023).
• The permanent establishment gets its own Romanian fiscal code, and the ordinary 16% corporate income tax applies on top of the gambling-specific fees.
• A foreign operator running through a permanent establishment must appoint an authorised representative domiciled in Romania, empowered to contract and to represent it before Romanian authorities and courts (art. 15(1) lit. B(v)).
• Fit-and-proper: a police clearance for every legal representative, associate holding 5% or more and administrator; criminal-record and tax-clearance certificates; self-declarations on beneficial owners (Legea 656/2002), incompatibility and bankruptcy history (HG 111/2016 Anexa 6a). No separate source-of-funds declaration is listed.

Two one-time administrative fees at application, then two recurring annual charges (licence fee plus the GGR-based authorisation fee), plus a fixed annual responsible-gambling contribution. Figures are per the 2025 amendments (Law 141/2025) in force from 1 August 2025.

On top of the fees, an online operator must post a financial guarantee (reserve) securing payment of its obligations to the state budget and to players. From 2025 the amount is a fixed sum by vertical rather than the earlier revenue-tiered scale.

• Until end-2024 the guarantee was tiered by annual revenue (e.g. EUR 500,000 to EUR 2,000,000 for non-casino online); the fixed EUR 5M / EUR 2M levels apply from 2025.
• The guarantee must be constituted before the application is filed and kept in place while the licence runs, separate from the annual fees; it may be a bank guarantee or an insurance guarantee policy from an EU, EEA or Swiss insurer (art. 29).

The licence file proves the operator; the authorisation file describes the operation. ONJN must decide within 30 days of complete documentation (OUG 77/2009 art. 1(4)), and may ask for documents beyond the listed ones.

• Core dossier (HG 111/2016 Anexa 6a): the standard-form request; trade-registry certificate and certificat constatator; articles of association; the Romanian representative appointment; police clearance, criminal-record and tax-clearance certificates; the self-declarations, including beneficial owners. Minimum share capital for online gambling is 1,000,000 lei.
• For remote gambling also: a Romanian bank account for player funds, full system certification by an ONJN-licensed conformity body (ISO 17025 or 17020), and the mirror and safety servers at ONJN's premises or a place it names.

• Games and platform must be certified by a conformity-assessment body accredited to ISO 17025 or 17020 that holds an ONJN Class II licence; each game shows a minimum 85% payout on its technical verification certificate.
• The platform interacts in real time with the game server, a mirror server and a safety server, placed at ONJN's premises or a location ONJN names (HG 111/2016).
• The operator must contract ONJN Class 2-licensed suppliers for its platform, payment and management services rather than uncertified third parties.
• Control records, accounting records and game regulations are kept for five years and produced to inspectors on demand, and the ONJN can require technical or financial audits at any time (HG 111/2016).

Two distinct burdens. The operator pays the authorisation fee (the main levy) plus fixed annual charges and corporate income tax; the player pays a withholding on winnings that the operator deducts at source.

• ONJN keeps a national database of self-excluded and undesirable persons for physical gambling, which organisers check in real time (art. 15¹; procedure in Ordin ONJN nr. 79/2025). Online self-exclusion is handled operator by operator; no single register covers online play.
• No deposit, loss or session limit and no reality check is mandated online.
• The EUR 500,000 annual responsible-gambling contribution is split by art. 10(5¹): 85% goes to the state budget, and 15% is retained by ONJN for its own authorisation and monitoring activity.
• Minimum player age is 18. Identity must be verified within 30 days of registration; up to EUR 200 may be deposited before that, and withdrawals wait for verification (HG 111/2016 art. 129).

Two regimes apply together: the gambling law (ONJN) and the Audiovisual Code (the CNA) for broadcast.

• Unsolicited electronic marketing messages are prohibited (art. 1²).
• Sending advertising materials to self-excluded players is prohibited.
• Outdoor advertising panels/materials exceeding 35 square metres are prohibited.
• No gambling programmes or adverts on television or radio from 06:00 to 23:00, except betting spots during live sports broadcasts; no public, sporting or cultural figures or online influencers (Decizia CNA nr. 573/2025 art. 109).
• Every advert must show the 18+ symbol, the licence series and number and the ONJN logo (HG 111/2016 art. 6(1)); bonus and jackpot values may not be displayed outside gambling venues (art. 7(4)).
• A 5% contribution applies to the value of advertising contracts.
• Platform policy, not statute: Google Ads and X accept gambling advertising only from advertisers holding the ONJN licence and authorisation.

• Online operators are reporting entities under Law no. 129/2019 (transposing the EU AML directives).
• ONJN has been the sole AML supervisor for gambling since May 2025 (art. 26(1)(c)). Suspicious transactions go to the financial intelligence unit (ONPCSB) forthwith; cash transactions at EUR 10,000 within three working days (Ordin ONJN nr. 370/2021).
• Ordin ONJN nr. 370/2021 requires one or more designated persons responsible for reporting.

The ONJN enforces the licensing perimeter through a blacklist that internet providers must block, and publishes the authoritative register of licensed operators.

• Blacklist and blocking: the ONJN blacklist carried 2,881 domains on 25 September 2026, built up through numbered Supervisory Committee decisions (nr. 415, 517, 537, 544 in June-August 2026); the chain runs from those decisions directly to internet service providers, with no role for the telecom regulator ANCOM. No instrument requires a bank or payment institution to block a gambling transaction: a draft law capping a person’s gambling payments at 10% of the previous month’s income, enforced through payment providers, got a negative opinion from the central bank and was rejected by the Senate on 10 June 2025, but the file continues before the Chamber of Deputies and is still in committee.
• Market size: the Court of Accounts put 2023 online gaming revenue at 7.3 billion lei, on stakes of 191 billion lei; ONJN publishes no gross gaming revenue figure.
• Licensed operators: 28 Class I (B2C) register rows (two with terms that have ended but are still listed) running 92 domains, and 413 Class II (B2B) licence rows held by about 355 companies, on ONJN's live registers (5 October 2026).

The realistic route for an online B2C operator (Class 1). Steps 1-6 build the Romanian footprint and compliance stack; 7-10 secure the licence; 11-12 secure the authorisation and go live.

1. 01

   Confirm eligibility and structure the entity

   Romanian company OR EU/EEA/CH entity, either way with a Romanian PE

   Incorporate a Romanian company, or set the group up as an EU/EEA/Swiss entity that will register a permanent establishment in Romania. Structure ownership so all shareholders, UBOs and directors clear the fit-and-proper checks before filing.

2. 02

   Register the permanent establishment and appoint a local representative

   tax registration + authorised Romanian representative

   Register the Romanian permanent establishment for tax (art. 8 of the Fiscal Code), and appoint an authorised representative domiciled in Romania, empowered to contract and to represent the operator before the ONJN, the tax authorities and the courts. This is the pivot of the 2023-2024 reform.

3. 03

   Contract ONJN Class 2-licensed suppliers

   platform, payments, management, software

   Engage suppliers that already hold ONJN Class 2 licences for the platform, payment processing, management services and game content. Uncertified third parties cannot be used.

4. 04

   Certify games and software with an ONJN-approved laboratory

   RNG / game / platform certification

   Commission an ONJN-approved testing laboratory to certify the RNG, games and platform. The certification is a mandatory attachment to the operation file.

5. 05

   Stand up the mirror server in Romania

   safe server + ONJN monitoring access

   Set up the mirror and safety servers at ONJN's premises or a place it names, interacting with the platform in real time.

6. 06

   Build AML and responsible-gambling frameworks

   Law 129/2019 + self-exclusion Order 79/2025

   Draft AML/CDD/KYC policies and reporting to ONPCSB (Ordin ONJN nr. 370/2021), plus the measures for preventing addiction and blocking minors that the licence file must describe.

7. 07

   Post the financial guarantee

   EUR 5M online casino / EUR 2M other online

   Secure the financial guarantee: EUR 5,000,000 for online casino, EUR 2,000,000 for other online gambling (art. 29(8)).

8. 08

   Assemble the licence dossier and pay the file-analysis fee

   EUR 3,500 on submission

   Compile the corporate, ownership, fit-and-proper, technical and compliance documents and pay the EUR 3,500 file-analysis fee.

9. 09

   File the Class 1 licence application with the ONJN

   ONJN Supervision Committee

   Submit the standard-form request, in Romanian and signed by the legal representative, to ONJN; the Supervision Committee decides, within 30 days of complete documentation (OUG 77/2009 art. 1(4)).

10. 10

    Obtain the licence and pay the recurring licence charges

    EUR 10,500 issuance + EUR 300,000/yr

    On grant, pay the EUR 10,500 issuance tax and the EUR 300,000 annual licence fee. The licence is valid for 10 years but does not by itself authorise operation.

11. 11

    Apply for and obtain the annual operating authorisation

    authorisation fee 30% GGR, min EUR 480,000/yr

    File the operation file for the annual authorisation and settle the authorisation fee (30% of GGR, minimum EUR 480,000/yr) plus the EUR 500,000 responsible-gambling contribution.

12. 12

    Go live and run ongoing compliance

    reporting · player-winnings withholding · annual renewal

    Launch, settle the authorisation fee on gaming revenue, withhold player-winnings tax at source (4% / 20% / 40% bands), keep advertising within the restrictions, pay 16% corporate income tax on Romanian profit, and renew the authorisation every year.

Tier-ordered: official government first, then practitioner, then trade media. Every primary figure was read from the in-force text on 4 Oct 2026.