In Romania, any game in which a player pays to take part, the outcome depends on chance and the prize is money or another material benefit offered to the public is gambling. Organizing it requires a license and an operating authorization from the National Gambling Office (ONJN) under OUG 77/2009. That covers lottery, betting, casino, slots, bingo, poker, tombola and every form of online gambling. Suppliers to those operators need a license too.
This guide was first published in April 2021. We have updated it for the reforms since then, including OUG 82/2023, Law 107/2024 and OUG 7/2026. If you already know you need a license and want costs and procedure, go to the Romania gambling license guide.
What Romanian law treats as gambling
The ordinance treats an activity as gambling when four elements meet:
- a material prize, usually cash, publicly offered by an organizer;
- acceptance of that offer by a participant;
- a participation fee, paid directly or hidden in the price of something else; and
- a random outcome: winners are decided by chance, however the result is produced (a draw, a wheel, an RNG, a sporting event the organizer does not control).
Organizing and operating gambling is a state monopoly (art. 1(1) OUG 77/2009). The state grants the right to private companies through two instruments: a license to organize for each type of activity and an operating authorization. Both are personal to the holder and limited in time, and the holder must run the activity itself.
Games that need a license
The ordinance classifies gambling by activity, and the license, the fees and the share capital follow that classification. The categories in force in 2026 are:
| Activity | Minimum share capital (RON) |
|---|---|
| Lottery games | 2,000,000 |
| Remote (online) gambling | 1,000,000 |
| Fixed-odds betting | 1,000,000 |
| Mutual (pool) betting | 1,000,000 |
| Casino games | 1,000,000 |
| Bingo through television networks | 1,000,000 |
| Temporary games | 1,000,000 |
| Bingo in gaming halls | 100,000 |
| Poker clubs and poker festivals | 100,000 |
| Traditional tombola | 100,000 |
| Slot-machine games | 30,000 |
Share capital is cumulative: a company licensed for online casino and fixed-odds betting needs both amounts. Lottery games are a state monopoly operated by Loteria Română (the Class 3 position), so in practice private applicants license the other activities.
Online gambling
The 2021 version of this post listed online bingo, online fixed-odds betting and “other online gambling” separately. Since Law 124/2015, remote gambling is one licensed activity grouped under Class 1, and every product offered to Romanian players online (casino, slots, live dealer, sports betting, poker, bingo) falls within it. A foreign site that accepts Romanian players without a Class 1 license is unlicensed, and ONJN can add its domain to the blacklist. See how sites get blacklisted.
Suppliers: the Class 2 license
The 2021 post did not cover the supply side, which is now where most Romanian licenses sit. Anyone supplying gambling products or services to a Class 1 operator needs a Class 2 license: game studios and RNG content providers, platforms and aggregators, live-casino studios, payment processors, hosting providers, test laboratories and affiliates. Class 1 operators may contract only Class 2 holders, and since Law 107/2024 a Class 2 holder that serves an unlicensed operator accessible from Romania risks a fine of RON 150,000 to 200,000 and revocation of the license.
A Class 2 license costs €10,500 once, then €20,000 a year plus a €15,000 responsible-gambling contribution: €45,500 in year 1 and €35,000 a year after. Details are on the Class 2 (B2B) license page.
How long a license lasts
The 2021 post said a license was valid for five years. That was out of date when it was written: the reform enacted by OUG 92/2014 and Law 124/2015 doubled the term to 10 years. In 2026:
- Class 1 and Class 2 licenses are valid for 10 years, conditional on paying the annual fees.
- The Class 1 operating authorization is granted for one year and renewed every year.
- Temporary games, such as a casino in a resort or on a leisure ship, are licensed for three months, with a possible extension.
ONJN must decide an application within 30 days of receiving a complete file (art. 1(4) OUG 77/2009), and silence is not approval.
What does not need a license
Some activities look like gambling but miss one of the four elements.
Skill contests. A competition decided only by skill, knowledge or dexterity, with no random element, is not gambling. Introduce chance into the result and charge an entry fee for a money prize, and it becomes gambling.
Amusement machines. Machines that test strength, intelligence or dexterity and do not award winnings based on a random element are outside the regime.
Free promotional campaigns. A business may run a prize draw to promote its products if participants pay no fee, the product carries no surcharge and its price is not raised for the campaign. These campaigns are governed by consumer-protection rules and the Fiscal Code (the organizer withholds tax on prizes), not by OUG 77/2009.
Non-profit community raffles. A raffle run in a school, kindergarten or similar community for entertainment, with no profit for the organizer, was treated as outside the regime. A traditional tombola run as a business is a licensed activity with its own fee and share capital.
Prohibited formats. Some formats cannot be licensed at all. Paid-entry prize competitions run by phone, TV or radio, where the prize depends only on answering correctly, are prohibited.
If your product sits near one of these lines (social casino with purchasable coins, sweepstakes models, prediction markets, skill-based games with a random element), get a written analysis before launch. ONJN looks at the economic substance, not the label; the Polymarket blacklisting shows how it treats new formats that accept Romanian players.
Common classification questions
Clients usually ask about formats the 2021 post did not cover. Our working answers, always subject to the facts of the product:
- Crash games, instant win and mines-style games. Stake, random outcome, money prize: remote gambling under Class 1, supplied by a Class 2 studio.
- Live dealer casino. A casino game offered remotely, so remote gambling for the operator. The studio that streams it needs a Class 2 license.
- Virtual sports. The result is produced by an RNG, not by a real event, so it is treated as a game of chance and offered under the remote gambling license, not as sports betting on real events.
- Betting exchanges. A betting format the ordinance recognizes since the 2015 reform. The exchange operator needs a Class 1 license.
- Paid fantasy sports. Depends on how far chance decides the result and how the prize pool is formed. Many formats meet all four elements; get an opinion before launch.
- Prediction markets. Staking money on the outcome of a future event the organizer does not control is betting. ONJN has blacklisted platforms of this kind.
- Social casino. With no money stake and no cash-out, one element is missing. Once virtual coins can be bought and converted into prizes, the analysis changes.
What applies now (2026)
- Operators must be established in Romania. 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.
- Online operators pay a 30% authorization fee on GGR, minimum €480,000 a year (Law 141/2025, from 1 August 2025), plus a flat €300,000 license fee and a €500,000 responsible-gambling contribution. Every fee by game category is in our analysis of gambling taxes in Romania.
- Land-based venues need local approval. Since OUG 7/2026, local councils decide whether gambling may take place in their area and in which zones, and a hall needs an annual local operating authorization in addition to the ONJN license. Several councils have moved to ban slot halls; see OUG 7/2026 and slot machines.
- Small towns are closed to gambling venues. Law 107/2024 bars gambling venues in localities with fewer than 15,000 residents.
Not sure which category your product falls into? Our gambling consulting services start with a classification memo before any application is filed.
