Of the seven reasons we gave in December 2021 for taking an online gaming license in Romania, three still hold in 2026: the 10-year license term, the 16% corporate income tax and the technical workforce. The cost argument has reversed for operators. Since 1 August 2025, Law 141/2025 sets a Class 1 online operator’s fixed annual floor at €1,280,000. For B2B suppliers, though, Romania’s Class 2 license at €35,000 a year is a stronger proposition than it was in 2021.
Below, each of the original seven points is checked against the 2026 law. For costs, eligibility and procedure in one place, use the Romania gambling license guide.
Why Romania attracted operators in 2021
In 2021 Romania looked like a well-regulated EU market with moderate taxes and a growing online audience. The regime introduced by Law 124/2015 had matured, many EU operators were applying, and early entrants expected lower marketing costs later. Online gambling has since grown to about 71% of the Romanian market, up from 52% in 2023, according to H2 Gambling Capital figures reported in May 2026. The market is real. The question is who can afford to be in it.
The seven advantages, checked against 2026
1. Low taxes and license fees: no longer true for operators
In 2021 a Romanian operator paid a 16% (later 21%) GGR-based authorization fee and a tiered license fee. OUG 82/2023 and Law 141/2025 changed that. A Class 1 online operator now pays:
| Annual charge | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| License fee (flat) | €300,000 | OUG 77/2009, fee annex |
| Authorization fee | 30% of GGR, minimum €480,000 | Law 141/2025 |
| Responsible-gambling contribution | €500,000 | art. 10(5^1) OUG 77/2009 |
| Fixed floor | €1,280,000 |
On top of that, a financial guarantee of €2,000,000 (betting, poker, bingo) or €5,000,000 (casino) must be kept in place. Because the €480,000 minimum applies until GGR reaches €1,600,000, a smaller operator’s effective rate is above 30%.
For suppliers the opposite is true. A Class 2 license costs €10,500 once and €35,000 a year (license fee €20,000 plus €15,000 contribution), with no GGR tax and no guarantee. See the Class 2 (B2B) license page.
2. Ten-year licenses: still true
Class 1 and Class 2 licenses are valid for 10 years. The Class 1 operating authorization is still renewed every year, so the long term buys predictability, not freedom from annual review.
3. Skilled IT and support staff: true, but not cheap
Romania still has a deep pool of developers, QA engineers and multilingual support staff, which is why many studios and platforms keep teams there. Two parts of the 2021 claim no longer hold. The income-tax exemption for IT employees ended for income earned from 1 January 2025 (GEO 156/2024). And the “€500 a month” average wage was never a fair benchmark for qualified technical staff; budget at market rates for the role.
4. Fast internet: still true, but no longer a differentiator
Romanian fixed broadband remains among the fastest in Europe. For an operator choosing a license in 2026 this is a minor factor: hosting is global, and connectivity is good across the EU.
5. Servers outside Romania: partly true
The main gaming server can still sit abroad. But a Class 1 online operator must keep a safety server and a mirror server in Romania, replicating game, transaction and player data so ONJN can monitor it in real time, and the hosting provider needs its own Class 2 license. Budget for Romanian infrastructure from day one.
6. EU players on a “.com” domain without tax: not true
This was the most misleading claim in the 2021 post, and we withdraw it. There is no EU gambling passport. An ONJN license authorizes gambling offered to players in Romania; each other member state decides whether and how to license online gambling, and many enforce against foreign operators. A Romanian license does not make it lawful to serve German, French or Dutch players. Groups that want several markets combine licenses; our jurisdictions overview compares the options.
7. A single 16% tax rate: true, with limits
Corporate income tax is 16%. It applies alongside the gambling charges above, not instead of them, and gambling companies cannot use the micro-enterprise regime: art. 47(3)(h) of the Fiscal Code, as amended by OG 16/2022, excludes them from 1 January 2023. The micro-enterprise post explains who can still use that regime.
Advantages the 2021 list missed
Some of Romania’s strongest selling points in 2026 were not on the original list.
An EU regulator on the file. ONJN is the licensing and supervisory authority of an EU member state, and since May 2025 it is also the sole AML supervisor for the gambling sector under Law 129/2019. Acquirers, electronic money institutions and tier-one platform partners treat an ONJN license very differently from an offshore certificate. For a supplier, that credibility is often worth more than access to the Romanian market itself.
A large, regulated B2B market. On 5 October 2026 the ONJN Class II register listed 413 license rows held by about 355 companies, against 28 Class I rows. Romania is one of the few EU markets where a studio, aggregator or payment provider can hold its own supplier license at a fixed, modest cost.
A defined decision clock. ONJN must decide within 30 days of receiving a complete file (art. 1(4) OUG 77/2009). A clean Class 2 file typically takes two to three months from kickoff to the register; a Class 1 project takes six to nine months to go live because certification, Romanian servers and the guarantee each run on their own timetable.
Predictable statutory costs. The fees are fixed in the annex to OUG 77/2009 and in Law 141/2025. They are high for operators, but they are known in advance, which makes a business case easier to test than in jurisdictions where costs depend on regulator discretion.
What applies now (2026)
- Who can apply. Since OUG 82/2023, a Class 1 operator must be a Romanian company or an EU/EEA/Swiss entity with a registered Romanian permanent establishment. Serving Romania from a foreign entity alone is no longer possible.
- Fees. The Law 141/2025 figures above apply from 1 August 2025. Any guide that still quotes 21% or a tiered license fee predates that change; our analysis of the October 2023 fee changes explains the step before it.
- Advertising. Law 107/2024 and the Audiovisual Code restrict outdoor, online and broadcast advertising, and public figures and influencers have been barred from audiovisual gambling ads since October 2025. The “early mover saves on marketing” argument from 2021 is weaker when marketing itself is restricted.
- Enforcement. The ONJN blacklist listed 2,881 domains on 25 September 2026, and a supplier that serves an unlicensed site accessible from Romania risks a RON 150,000–200,000 fine and revocation of its Class 2 license.
Who should still license in Romania
Operators should apply only if Romania is itself a target market and the business plan clears €1.6 million GGR within a realistic period. Below that, the minimum fee makes the effective tax rate punishing. Validate the product elsewhere first, then enter Romania with data.
Suppliers (game studios, platforms, aggregators, payment providers, affiliates) have the better case. A Class 2 license puts an EU regulator on the file for €35,000 a year and opens the Romanian operator market, where licensed operators may contract only licensed suppliers.
If you want the numbers for your own case, our Class 1 license page includes a break-even calculator.
