In 2020 a Romanian land-based fixed-odds betting operator paid a €25,000 annual license fee, an authorization fee of 16% of income with a €90,000 minimum, and a €1,000 responsible-gambling contribution. In 2026 the same business pays a €200,000 license fee under OUG 82/2023, an authorization fee of 25% of gross gaming revenue with a €240,000 minimum under Law 141/2025, and a €200,000 annual contribution, and it must keep a €1,000,000 guarantee in place. This post sets out the 2020 rules for the three traditional bet types (mutual, counterpart and fixed-odds) and then the current figures. Online betting is covered at the end.
Where the rules come from
Betting taxes, payment deadlines and procedures come from the sector law, OUG 77/2009 and its norms in HG 111/2016, read together with the Fiscal Code, the Fiscal Procedure Code and the accounting regulations. Fees are set in euro and paid in lei. In 2020 the conversion rate for the whole year was 4.7511 RON/EUR.
1. Annual license fee
The 2020 rule
A fixed amount per bet type:
- mutual (pool) betting: €45,000;
- counterpart or fixed-odds betting: €25,000.
The first year was due by the 25th of the month after ONJN approved the file; each of the following nine years was due 10 days before the previous year ended. The fee was declared on Form 100 (ANAF Order 587/2016) under code 536, “fee for obtaining a gambling license”, in the chapter for obligations not paid into the single account. In the books it was recorded as a prepaid expense and released to operating expenses monthly.
The 2026 rule
The Annex to OUG 77/2009, as replaced by OUG 82/2023, sets:
| Bet type | Annual license fee |
|---|---|
| Fixed-odds betting | €200,000 |
| Counterpart (exchange) betting | €150,000 |
| Mutual betting | €65,000 |
The relationship between the bet types has also flipped: in 2020 mutual betting carried the higher fee; today fixed-odds does.
2. Annual authorization fee
a) Advance fee: 2020
For the first year, 16% of estimated annual income, with a minimum of €90,000, due by the 25th of the month after the file was approved. For each renewal, 16% of the income recorded in the month before the extension request was analyzed, again with a €90,000 minimum. It was declared on Form 100 under code 537, “annual fee for obtaining the gambling authorization”, and booked as a prepaid expense.
b) Monthly regularization: 2020
From the first month in which 16% of actual income exceeded the advance already paid, the operator paid the difference monthly, by the 25th of the following month. Code 504 on Form 100 covered this “periodically regularized” fee, booked directly to operating expenses. A copy of each return and the proof of payment had to reach ONJN within 5 days of payment.
The 2026 rule
The advance-plus-regularization mechanism survives; the rate and minimum do not. Law 141/2025, in force from 1 August 2025, raised the authorization fee for land-based betting from 21% to 25%:
| Bet type | Authorization fee |
|---|---|
| Fixed-odds and exchange betting | 25% of GGR, minimum €240,000 |
| Mutual betting | 25% of GGR, minimum €144,000 |
A fixed-odds operator therefore pays 25% only once GGR passes €960,000. Below that, the €240,000 minimum applies and the effective rate is higher.
3. Annual contribution
The 2020 rule
A fixed €1,000 a year from each organizer to fund the prevention of gambling addiction, due by 15 December. ONJN revenues were treated as budget receivables, and an ONJN notice served as an enforceable title.
The 2026 rule
Art. 10 of OUG 77/2009, as amended by OUG 82/2023, sets the contribution per activity:
| Bet type | Annual contribution |
|---|---|
| Fixed-odds betting | €200,000 |
| Counterpart betting | €100,000 |
| Mutual betting | €50,000 |
What applies now (2026)
The full cost stack for a land-based fixed-odds operator, before profit tax:
| Item | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| License fee | €200,000 / year | OUG 82/2023 Annex |
| Authorization fee | 25% of GGR, min €240,000 / year | Law 141/2025 |
| Responsible-gambling contribution | €200,000 / year | art. 10 OUG 77/2009 |
| Financial guarantee | €1,000,000, maintained | art. 29 OUG 77/2009, from 1 Jan 2025 |
| Local operating authorization | fee set by each council, by floor area | OUG 7/2026 |
| Corporate income tax | 16% of profit | Fiscal Code; micro regime excluded since 2023 |
That is €640,000 a year in fixed sector charges before the first bet is taken, plus €1,000,000 tied up in the guarantee. Fees for every other game category are compared in our analysis of gambling taxes in Romania in 2026. It explains why the street-franchise model of 2019 has disappeared; see our post on the 2019 sports betting franchise.
Venues. Since Law 107/2024 a betting agency may host up to five slot machines, may not share an entrance with a shop selling alcohol, and must be in a locality above 15,000 inhabitants. Since OUG 7/2026 every agency also needs a local operating authorization, and councils may ban gambling venues outright.
Online betting. An online sportsbook is a remote Class 1 licensee, not a betting licensee in the land-based sense. It pays the €3,500 file-analysis and €10,500 issuance fees, then a flat €300,000 license fee, 30% of GGR with a €480,000 minimum, and the €500,000 responsible-gambling contribution, and it posts a €2,000,000 guarantee. The route and the dossier are on our Class 1 (B2C) license page, and the cost model is on the Romania licensing hub.
Players’ winnings. Since 1 August 2025 the operator withholds a final tax on each payout: 4% up to RON 10,000, RON 400 plus 20% up to RON 66,750, and RON 11,750 plus 40% above that, paid by the 25th of the following month. Our post on the obligations of bookmakers to the treasury and gamblers covers the payout and reporting duties.
Filing. Fees are still declared to ANAF and evidenced to ONJN. Check the current Form 100 instructions and nomenclature codes each year, as they are revised; our tax services include the monthly regularization and the ONJN filings.