Since 3 November 2022, Romanian gambling companies have paid a 0.5% contribution on their revenue to the National Cultural Fund. Law 286/2022 added the levy to art. 21(1)(t) of OG 51/1998 on support for culture. It is calculated monthly and paid by the 15th of the following month. In 2026 the levy still applies, and the two gaps we flagged in December 2022 are still there: the law does not say exactly who pays or on what base.
We first published this post a few weeks after the law took effect. Below is what happened, what the rule says, and how it is applied now.
What happened in 2022
Law 286/2022 approved OUG 83/2022 and, among other changes, amended OG 51/1998, the act that funds Romania’s National Cultural Fund (Fondul Cultural Național). The Fund finances cultural projects and is administered by the National Cultural Fund Administration (AFCN). Its revenue comes from a list of sector contributions, and the 2022 amendment added gambling to that list.
The new rule required “economic operators in the field of gambling”, including online activity, to pay 0.5% of the revenue they earn. It took effect on 3 November 2022, so the first payments fell due in December 2022.
When we wrote about it that month, no methodological norms had been adapted to the new contribution. Gambling consultants and industry associations warned that the law would be hard to apply without them.
How the contribution works
- Rate: 0.5%.
- Base: the revenue of economic operators in the gambling sector, including online.
- Period: calculated monthly.
- Deadline: paid into the National Cultural Fund budget by the 15th of the following month (art. 22(1) OG 51/1998), with a monthly declaration and a payment order showing the obligation code (art. 22(4)).
- Late payment: interest and penalties under the Fiscal Procedure Code (Law 207/2015), which become Fund revenue (art. 23).
- Fines (art. 24): RON 2,000 to 3,000 for failing to pay within two months after the deadline, and RON 1,500 to 2,500 for calculating the contribution incorrectly.
One rule helps groups that fall under several contributions: where an operator owes more than one National Cultural Fund contribution, it pays only the largest (art. 22(5)).
The two problems we raised in 2022
Problem 1: who has to pay
The law refers to “economic operators in the field of gambling” without defining the phrase. In 2022 we asked:
- whether only companies licensed to organize gambling must pay, or also companies that provide services to them; and
- whether the duty covers every company operating in Romania or only those that are tax resident there.
Problem 2: what “revenue” means
The law sets 0.5% of “revenue” (venituri) without defining it. For a gambling organizer, revenue can mean total stakes, gross gaming revenue (stakes minus winnings paid), or accounting turnover. The difference between those bases is large. We argued that the methodological norms on the National Cultural Fund should be amended to fix the base.
What applies now (2026)
The levy is still in force. Law-firm guides current to October 2025 list the 0.5% National Cultural Fund contribution among the charges on Romanian B2C operators, and the industry federation FEDBET’s 2025 tax analysis describes it as 0.5% of the monthly revenue of gambling organizers. We found no repeal or amendment of art. 21(1)(t) OG 51/1998 since 2022.
Who pays in practice. The levy is applied to licensed gambling organizers, that is Class 1 operators, land-based and online. Since OUG 82/2023, an online operator must be a Romanian company or an EU/EEA/Swiss entity with a Romanian permanent establishment, so the residence question from 2022 has largely answered itself for operators. The position of Class 2 suppliers (studios, platforms, affiliates) is not settled by the text. A supplier should have a written position on file rather than rely on silence.
What base in practice. Practitioners apply the 0.5% to gaming revenue, meaning GGR, which is also the base of the 30% online authorization fee under Law 141/2025. Because the statute still says only “revenue”, operators should document the base they use and apply it consistently.
It is one charge among many. For a Class 1 online operator, the culture contribution sits on top of the €300,000 annual license fee, the 30% GGR authorization fee (minimum €480,000), the €500,000 responsible-gambling contribution, a 5% contribution on the value of advertising contracts and 16% corporate income tax. At €2 million GGR it adds about €10,000 a year: small next to the authorization fee, but a separate monthly filing with its own penalties. The full schedule is in our compliance calendar, and the Class 1 cost structure is set out on the Class 1 license page. Every sector fee by game category is in our analysis of gambling taxes in Romania in 2026.
For background on how Romanian gambling taxation developed, see Romanian gambling taxation in 2020. Our tax and compliance services include monthly filings for Class 1 operators and written positions for Class 2 suppliers on contributions such as this one.