Romania Class 1 (B2C) gambling license

Who needs a Romania Class 1 license?

Anyone offering games of chance to players located in Romania, wherever the group is headquartered:

Suppliers do not need Class 1. Studios, platforms, PSPs, hosting, test labs and affiliates need a Class 2 (B2B) license at €20,000 a year — and you may only contract Class 2-licensed suppliers.

Romania Class 1 fees and costs (2026)

Every category, from land-based betting, casinos and slot machines to guarantees and local authorization, is compared in our analysis of gambling taxes in Romania in 2026. Slot-hall operators facing claims for past periods should read our analysis of historical ONJN authorization fee reassessments. To compare Romania across all 25 jurisdictions we cover, see starting an online casino in 2027. Sector turnover, tax receipts and 2027 scenarios are in our Romania gambling market in 2026 analysis. What the €500,000 responsible-gambling contribution pays for, and what it does not: Romania's responsible gambling rules.

Then budget the non-statutory side: laboratory certification, mirror/safety server hosting and the ONJN data feed, AML and KYC tooling, a Romanian director and reporting. We quote those per project.

When the fees are paid

• License fee (€300,000): in year 1 after Supervisory Committee approval and before the license takes effect (by the 25th of the month after approval; paid late, the approval lapses); then at least 10 days before each anniversary of the license.
• Responsible-gambling contribution (€500,000): within 10 days of the license being granted in year 1, then by 25 January each year.
• Authorization fee (30% of GGR): GGR is stakes less winnings paid. The fee is declared and paid monthly, by the 25th of the following month, on the previous month's GGR, with a year-end adjustment up to the €480,000 annual minimum.
• Where the money goes: the license, authorization and access fees are split 98.8% to the state budget, 1% to the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR) and 0.2% to the National Paralympic Committee (CNP) (art. 13 OUG 77/2009, Law 30/2022). The split is not an extra charge.

Land-based responsible-gambling contributions are set per unit: €500 a year per slot machine, €4,000 per casino gaming table, €5,000 per poker club and €200,000 a year for land-based fixed-odds betting, due by 25 January.

Financial guarantee and share capital

Setting up the licensee: Romania company formation for a Class 1 license. Which products count as gambling and need a Class 1 license: which games of chance require a license in Romania. What the license proves to players and partners, and how to verify it: what is the ONJN license. After approval, the monthly and annual ONJN and ANAF dates: Romania gambling compliance calendar 2026.

Guarantee — online casino

€5,000,000 (art. 29)

Guarantee — other online

€2,000,000 — betting, poker, bingo

Form

Bank guarantee or EU/EEA/Swiss insurance policy

Timing

In place before filing; kept for the license term

Share capital — remote gambling

RON 1,000,000, cumulative per activity

Until end-2024 the guarantee was tiered by revenue; the fixed amounts apply from 2025. Full per-activity capital schedule: Romania overview.

Form, enforcement and release of the guarantee

• Accepted instruments: a letter of guarantee from a bank licensed in Romania or the EU, or an insurance policy from an insurer licensed in Romania or the EU. A cash deposit paid directly to ONJN is generally not accepted as a substitute; a blocked cash deposit at the issuing bank is commonly used as collateral behind the bank guarantee.
• When ONJN can call it: to cover unpaid state taxes and fees (license fee, authorization fee, responsible-gambling contribution, penalties) or unpaid player winnings, when the operator fails to pay within the statutory deadline after an administrative order.
• Release: only on ONJN's express approval after operations stop. The operator files a tax clearance certificate (certificat de atestare fiscală) from ANAF showing no outstanding debts, and ONJN confirms that player claims, fees and state obligations are settled. Plan on 3 to 6 months after operations cease.

The 12-step route to a live Class 1 operation

Steps 1–6 build the Romanian footprint and compliance stack, 7–10 secure the license, 11–12 secure the authorization and go live.

1. Before filing

   Confirm eligibility and structure the entity

   Romanian SRL/SA, or an EU/EEA/Swiss entity that will register a Romanian permanent establishment. Clear every shareholder, UBO and director through fit-and-proper screening first — a refusal stays on the record.

2. Weeks 1–3

   Register the permanent establishment

   An EU/EEA/Swiss applicant tax-registers its Romanian permanent establishment (art. 8 Fiscal Code), with its own fiscal code; a Romanian SRL/SA incorporates and capitalizes instead. This is the pivot of the OUG 82/2023 reform.

3. Weeks 2–6

   Contract Class 2-licensed suppliers

   Platform, payments, management services and every game studio must hold an ONJN Class 2 license. Check each supplier on the ONJN register before signing — pending supplier licenses delay your file.

4. Weeks 3–8

   Certify games and platform

   An ONJN Class 2-licensed conformity body accredited to ISO 17025 or 17020 certifies the RNG, games and platform; each game shows at least 85% payout on its certificate.

5. Weeks 3–8

   Stand up the mirror and safety servers

   Game, mirror and safety servers interact in real time; the mirror and safety servers sit at ONJN premises or a location ONJN names (HG 111/2016). Scope this in week 1, not week 10.

6. Weeks 4–8

   Build AML and RG frameworks

   AML/CDD/KYC under Law 129/2019 and ONJN Order 370/2021, a designated reporting person, responsible-gambling and minor-protection measures, and self-exclusion handling under Order 79/2025.

7. Before filing

   Post the financial guarantee

   €5,000,000 online casino or €2,000,000 other online gambling, as a bank guarantee or EU/EEA/Swiss insurance guarantee (art. 29).

8. Weeks 6–8

   Assemble the dossier, pay the analysis fee

   Corporate, fit-and-proper, financial, technical and compliance files (HG 111/2016 Annex 6a), in Romanian or certified translation. €3,500 file-analysis fee on submission.

9. Week 8–9

   File the Class 1 application

   Standard-form request in Romanian signed by the legal representative. The Supervisory Committee decides within 30 days of a complete file; ONJN may ask for documents beyond the list.

10. ~Week 12

    Obtain the license, pay license charges

    €10,500 issuance fee and €300,000 annual license fee. Valid 10 years — but it does not yet let you operate.

11. Weeks 12–16

    Obtain the operating authorization

    File the operation dossier and settle the authorization fee (30% of GGR, minimum €480,000) and the €500,000 RG contribution.

12. Ongoing

    Go live and run compliance

    Withhold winnings tax at source, keep advertising within the rules, report to ONJN and ONPCSB, keep records five years, pay 16% CIT, renew the authorization every year.

Local representation, renewal and refusals

• Local representative: an EU, EEA or Swiss licensee registers a Romanian permanent establishment for tax purposes and appoints an authorized representative (împuternicit) resident in Romania, with full authority before ONJN, ANAF and the Romanian courts.
• Annual authorization: valid for 12 months. To keep it, pay the annual license fee, keep the guarantee valid, file an updated tax clearance certificate showing no ANAF debts and pay the advance installment of the authorization fee at least 10 days before the anniversary.
• 10-year license: renewed by a full new application filed at least 90 days before the term ends, showing that the corporate, financial, technical and legal conditions are still met.
• Incomplete file: ONJN asks for the missing documents, usually with 15 to 30 calendar days to supply them. The €3,500 file-analysis fee is not refunded.
• Refusal: can be challenged by a prior administrative complaint (plângere prealabilă) within 30 days, then before the administrative and tax section of the Court of Appeal under Law 554/2004.

Class 1 dossier checklist

Romanian or certified translation, apostilled where required, dated within 90 days where the document type allows. ONJN may request more.

Game rules and the special part of the internal rules

Before ONJN issues an operating authorization, the Supervisory Committee must approve two documents for each type of game: the game rules (regulament de joc) and the special part of the internal rules (regulament intern – partea specială), both defined in art. 2 of HG 111/2016. The Committee can approve them as filed, approve them with its own amendments, or reject them with reasons. Any later change needs new approval, and amended game rules apply to players only from the date of approval (HG 111/2016 art. 27): changing the website terms without approval breaches the authorization, even when the change favors players.

ONJN reads the two documents together: a duty in the game rules with no owner in the special part, or a role that is not on the organization chart, is a common reason for amendments. The general part of the internal rules follows the Labor Code (arts. 241–246 of Law 53/2003) and must reach each employee on the first working day. Online operators publish the approved rules on their website, word for word; land-based casinos and poker clubs keep an identical copy at the venue. AML detail: Romania AML rules for gambling companies.

Technical requirements

• Games and platform certified by an ONJN Class 2-licensed body accredited to ISO 17025 or 17020; minimum 85% payout per game.
• Game server, mirror server and safety server interacting in real time; mirror and safety servers at ONJN premises or a location it names (HG 111/2016).
• Only Class 2-licensed suppliers for platform, payment and management services.
• Control and accounting records and game rules kept five years and produced on demand; ONJN may order technical or financial audits at any time.

Servers, cloud and the ONJN data feed

• Main gaming server: in Romania or in any EU or EEA state or Switzerland.
• Safety (mirror) and reporting servers: in Romania, at ONJN premises or a location ONJN names. The safety server receives a continuous real-time copy of transaction data for ONJN oversight; it does not have to be a hot-standby failover able to take over traffic.
• Public cloud: AWS, Azure or Google Cloud may host application servers and web front ends if data security and ISO 27001 standards are met; raw transaction data and reporting logs must pass through and be backed up on the Romanian safety and reporting servers.
• Data sent in real time: every login and session, account creation, deposit, withdrawal, bet, win and balance change. During an outage the system queues the data locally in encrypted storage and resends it in sequence as soon as the connection returns.
• ONJN access: 24/7 remote read-only access to the reporting software, with query rights over player accounts, transactions and gaming records, and physical access to the mirror data center. Keep the access log and the GDPR basis documented.

Platform, updates and domain

• White label: a platform already certified by a Class 2-licensed laboratory can be used; the new licensee's brand instance, local integration, mirror connection and ONJN feed still need a targeted compliance audit and a certificate of conformity before go-live.
• Updates and new games: major updates, a new RNG or new platform code are re-certified before deployment; a new game from a provider whose integration is already certified usually needs only a notification to ONJN with the game certificate and the supplier's Class 2 license.
• Testing laboratories: must hold an ONJN Class 2 license and ISO/IEC 17025 or 17020 accreditation; check each laboratory on the ONJN Class 2 register before you engage it.
• Domain: remote gambling for players in Romania runs on a .ro domain.
• Unlicensed suppliers: contracting software, hosting, payment, affiliate or audit services from an entity without a Class 2 license is a contravention fined RON 150,000 to 200,000 with confiscation (OUG 77/2009 art. 26¹(5)), and can lead to suspension or revocation of the Class 1 license.

Operator taxes and player-winnings withholding

The operator withholds at each transfer from the game account to a bank account; players do not self-report. Sports-betting winnings are taxed from the first leu; casino, poker, slot and scratch-card winnings are non-taxable up to RON 66,750 per payout (Fiscal Code art. 110).

Declaring the withholding: the operator calculates the tax on each payout, declares it on Form 100 and pays it to the state budget monthly, by the 25th of the following month; the annual informative returns follow (Form 205 for residents, 207 for non-residents).

Advertising restrictions

• No unsolicited electronic marketing (art. 1²) and no advertising to self-excluded persons.
• No outdoor panels or materials over 35 m².
• No TV or radio gambling ads 06:00–23:00, except betting spots during live sport; no public, sporting or cultural figures or influencers (CNA Decision 573/2025 art. 109).
• Every ad shows 18+, the license series and number and the ONJN logo (HG 111/2016 art. 6(1)); no bonus or jackpot values outside gambling venues (art. 7(4)).
• Google Ads and X accept Romanian gambling ads only from holders of the ONJN license and authorization.

AML, KYC and responsible gambling

• Online operators are reporting entities under Law 129/2019; ONJN has been the sole gambling AML supervisor since May 2025.
• Suspicious transactions go to ONPCSB without delay; cash transactions of €10,000 or more within three working days (Order 370/2021).
• Players must be 18+. Identity verified within 30 days of registration; up to €200 may be deposited before that and withdrawals wait for verification (HG 111/2016 art. 129).
• Self-exclusion follows art. 15¹ OUG 77/2009 and Order 79/2025; check the scope that applies to your online stack with us before go-live.

Player accounts

• Currency: accounts of players resident in Romania are held and processed in lei (RON); cryptocurrencies and foreign-currency balances are not allowed.
• Unverified accounts: if identity verification is not completed within 30 days, the account is closed and unplayed deposits and any winnings are transferred in full to the state budget.
• Dormant accounts: accounts inactive for more than 12 months may incur maintenance fees if the terms provide for them; balances of accounts closed for failed verification cannot be kept by the operator.
• Self-exclusion register: an automated connection to ONJN's national database checks every player in real time before registration, login and each bet.