Since 25 February 2026, an ONJN license is no longer enough to open a gambling venue in Romania. OUG 7/2026 (Monitorul Oficial no. 146 of 25 February 2026) amended OUG 77/2009 so that every local council decides whether land-based gambling may operate in its territory, and requires an annual local operating authorization on top of the national license. In the same year, the first 10-year Class 2 supplier licenses issued from 2016 come up for renewal. This post covers both: what the local veto means for land-based operators, and what a 2026 renewal means for B2B suppliers.
Key provisions of OUG 7/2026: the local council veto
OUG 7/2026 is an omnibus ordinance on local government finances; its gambling provisions amend OUG 77/2009. They work in four steps.
- Allow or ban. The local council adopts a resolution stating whether gambling activities may or may not take place in its territory.
- Local authorization. Where gambling is allowed, the operator needs an annual local operating authorization (autorizație anuală de funcționare) before it starts. The council grants or refuses it under a local regulation it adopts itself.
- Zones and fees. The council may define the zones where gambling is permitted and sets a local fee per square meter of premises, payable within 30 days of the authorization being issued.
- Notice. The existing duty remains: before starting in a locality, the operator notifies the local authority in writing within five days, with copies of its ONJN license and operating authorization.
Councils were given 60 days to adopt their implementing rules, a deadline that fell in late April 2026. There is no penalty for missing it, and most councils did. Operators holding valid ONJN operating authorizations when the ordinance took effect may continue until those authorizations expire; after that, they need the local permit or they close.
The local layer targets physical premises. Online Class 1 operators and Class 2 suppliers are not required to obtain municipal permits, a point the Romania licensing guide treats in detail.
First-wave local decisions (2026)
- Slatina adopted a ban on all gambling and sports betting except the state lottery in March 2026; existing ONJN authorizations run until they expire.
- Iași published a draft on 3 March 2026 banning everything except lottery and sports betting, with a proposed local fee of RON 500 per square meter a year and no slot machines in permitted premises. The council adopted it unanimously on 27 April 2026; for how Iași, Slatina and Constanța compare with Bulgaria’s 300 m rule, see the CEE land-based gambling crackdown.
- Buzău and Focșani published drafts in March 2026 along the same lines; Focșani reported about 459 machines in operation.
- Constanța and Bucharest District 3 signaled intentions to restrict slot venues.
The effect on the slot-machine fleet is covered in OUG 7/2026 and Romania’s slot machines.
By August 2026, about 90 of Romania’s roughly 3,100 local authorities had adopted a decision: 35 bans and 55 permissions, according to Profit.ro. Official estimates quoted in the trade press suggested up to 200 localities could move to a ban.
National reforms and ONJN modernization
The local veto arrived alongside national changes that apply to everyone:
- Law 141/2025 raised the online authorization fee to 30% of GGR with a €480,000 minimum, in force since 1 August 2025. The online Class 1 license fee is €300,000 a year.
- ONJN now has direct access to operators’ servers, compares its declarations with ANAF filings, and has opened audits into suspected manipulation of the GGR tax base.
- A national self-exclusion procedure runs under ONJN Order 79/2025, and a single ONJN-managed system for online and land-based play has been proposed.
- Bills raising the gambling age to 21 and banning daytime online gambling advertising passed the Senate in February 2026 and were still pending in the Chamber of Deputies at mid-year.
We track the regulator’s own agenda in ONJN’s 2026 compliance agenda.
B2B (Class 2) license renewal cycle (2026)
Class 2 licenses are valid for 10 years. The online regime opened in 2016 under the methodological norms in HG 111/2016, so the first B2B licenses granted that year expire during 2026. For many suppliers this is the first time ONJN will look at the whole file again.
Evolution of B2B rules since 2016
| Year | Change for Class 2 holders |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Class 2 licenses introduced; few ongoing duties |
| 2019 | Responsible-gambling contribution of €1,000 a year |
| 2022 | Annual fee raised to €9,500 (GO 15/2022); B2B holders brought into the significant-change notification regime |
| 2023 | OUG 82/2023: annual fee €20,000, contribution €15,000 |
| 2024 | Suppliers barred from serving unlicensed operators and required to apply technical measures |
| 2025 | ONJN Order 33/2025 (in force 21 March 2025) defines “significant changes”; Law 141/2025 adds blocking and a monthly report by the 10th for software, platform and payment suppliers |
The fee history is covered in our post on GO 15/2022 and the licensing fees.
What a 2026 renewal looks like
A supplier renewing in 2026 is not renewing the 2016 license. It is applying under the 2026 rules, and the file will be read against every obligation added since. In our practice, the questions that slow a renewal are:
- Unnotified changes. Shareholder, director, UBO, registered-office or share-capital changes since grant that were never notified under Order 33/2025.
- Customer exposure. Any Romanian-facing customer that is not a Class 1 licensee, or a domain that appears on the ONJN blacklist.
- Monthly reports. Missing or nil reports under Law 141/2025 for software, platform and payment suppliers.
- Fees. Gaps in the annual €20,000 license fee or €15,000 contribution.
Start six months before expiry. The full requirements for a new or renewed file are on our Class 2 (B2B) license page.
Taxation and cost structure
| Segment | Statutory charges |
|---|---|
| Class 2 (B2B) | €10,500 issuance; €20,000 annual license fee; €15,000 annual responsible-gambling contribution; no GGR tax, no guarantee |
| Class 1 online (B2C) | €3,500 file analysis; €10,500 issuance; €300,000 annual license fee; 30% of GGR authorization fee (minimum €480,000); €500,000 responsible-gambling contribution; €2–5 million guarantee |
Payment dates for each of these, plus the monthly ONJN and ANAF filings, are in the Romania gambling compliance calendar 2026. | Land-based | ONJN license and per-device or per-venue authorization fees, plus the new local fee per square meter |
The local fee is a separate municipal charge. It does not replace any national tax.
Risk assessment
Risks
- Fragmentation. Thousands of councils can each set different rules, zones and fees, and several have done so in weeks.
- Authorization gap. Operators reported that ONJN could not keep authorizing machines while local rules were missing. The industry association AOPJNR warned in March 2026 of tens of millions of lei in lost fees a month and asked for transitional measures; ONJN and the Ministry of Finance agreed a fix was needed, but none had been legislated by August.
- Stranded venues. Where a council bans, premises close when the current ONJN authorization expires.
- Grey market. Rapid closures can push players toward unlicensed sites.
Opportunities
- Land-based operators that file early in permitting municipalities can shape zoning and fees.
- Online operators and B2B suppliers are outside the local layer, and online already accounts for most of the market.
- A clean Class 2 renewal is a strong signal to operators and acquirers that the supplier has kept pace with the rules.
Overall risk level
Medium to high for land-based operators; moderate for online operators and suppliers, whose risk is compliance load rather than market access.
What applies now (2026)
As of October 2026, OUG 7/2026 is in force and the authorization gap for slot machines is unresolved: 2,337 slot positions were authorized in February–May 2026 against 18,981 in the same period of 2025. Land-based operators should map every locality where they operate, file local dossiers as soon as a council adopts its rules, and budget for closures where bans are adopted. B2B suppliers should check their grant date, clean up notifications and customer lists, and start the renewal file early. If you need help with either, contact us.
