In October 2025 a legislative proposal registered with the Romanian Senate as b470/2025 would have amended OUG 77/2009 so that casinos, poker clubs and slot machines could operate only in resorts of national tourist interest or on leisure vessels. It did not become law. A year later, land-based gambling is restricted by a different instrument, OUG 7/2026, which hands the decision to local councils.
What the proposal said
The bill, registered on 2 October 2025, targeted land-based gambling regulated by OUG 77/2009. Lotto and betting were left out. Its core rules were:
- casinos, poker clubs and slot machines allowed only in the resorts of national tourist interest designated by the Government, about 56 localities including Sinaia, Poiana Brașov, Mamaia, Băile Herculane, Băile Felix, Eforie Nord, Sovata and Predeal;
- gambling permitted on leisure vessels, which the sponsors pitched as support for Danube and Black Sea tourism;
- no change to the online regime.
The explanatory note argued that slot halls had spread into residential neighborhoods and exposed low-income households to avoidable financial risk. The aim was not prohibition but distance: gambling would require travel and spending, which the sponsors expected to reduce impulsive play.
The tourism and public-health argument
Supporters said resorts already have the staff, surveillance and hospitality infrastructure that player protection needs, and pointed to integrated-resort models in Singapore and Macau. Concentrating venues would, in their view, make inspections easier and tie gambling revenue to tourism policy.
Transitional rules in the bill
Existing operators could have kept their licenses until expiry. Renewals and new applications would have had to meet the resort-only test. In practice, every slot hall and casino outside a qualifying resort would have closed within the life of its current license.
The Economic and Social Council said no
On 22 October 2025 the CES, which advises Parliament on economic and social legislation, gave the bill an unfavorable opinion. Its main points:
- Romania’s casinos then operated only in Bucharest (three licensed operators) and its poker clubs in cities such as Cluj-Napoca, Brașov and Iași, none of which has resort status, so the bill would close them outright, including those in hotels;
- foreign visitors prefer county-seat cities, while resorts mainly draw domestic tourists;
- operator, state and local budget revenue would fall;
- tying an activity to a locality’s legal status would create instability for investors;
- the restriction could breach freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services (Articles 49 and 56 TFEU) because less restrictive tools exist, such as stronger controls, technical standards or license caps on objective criteria.
The CES also noted that the tourism directorate of the economy ministry had not been consulted.
What applies now (2026)
As of October 2026 the resort-only bill has not been enacted. The policy goal behind it, fewer slot halls in ordinary neighborhoods, was pursued instead through OUG 7/2026, published in late February 2026:
- each local council decides by resolution whether gambling may take place in its area and in which zones;
- land-based operators need a local annual operating authorization in addition to their ONJN license and authorization, and pay a local tax calculated on floor area;
- councils were given 60 days to decide.
The effect has been sharp. By August 2026 only about 90 of roughly 3,100 local authorities had adopted a decision, 35 of them banning gambling. Slot-machine positions authorized from February to May 2026 fell to 2,337, against 18,981 in the same period of 2025, and authorization fees for that period dropped from RON 485 million to RON 300 million. ONJN proposed transitional rules; none had been adopted by then.
We analyze the ordinance in OUG 7/2026 and Romania’s slot machines and in our 2026 update on the local-council veto.
What this means for online and B2B businesses
Neither the resort bill nor OUG 7/2026 touches remote gambling. Online operators still need a national Class 1 license, and suppliers a Class 2 license, both issued by ONJN. For land-based groups, the location decision has moved from Bucharest to the town hall, and every site plan now needs a local-authorization check first.
Our Romania licensing overview sets out both routes. If you run or plan land-based venues, contact us for a site-by-site review of local council decisions.
