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🇷🇴 Romania · Oficiul Naţional pentru Jocuri de Noroc (ONJN)

Romania Online Gambling Licence — 2026

The largest regulated market in CEE and, since 1 August 2025, the most heavily taxed licence on this site: 30% of GGR with a EUR 480,000 floor, EUR 300,000 licence tax, EUR 500,000 contribution and 2% of deposits. Ten-year licences; 30-day statutory decision; EUR 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 guarantee.

Tier 2 — Credible domestic / EU regional

Romania licenses online gambling under OUG 77/2009, administered by the Oficiul Naţional pentru Jocuri de Noroc (ONJN). The structure is a 10-year organisation licence (Class 1 for operators with a direct player contract, Class 2 for suppliers and affiliates) plus an annual exploitation authorisation whose tax is the gaming tax by another name. Only a Romanian company, or an EU, EEA or Swiss company with a Romanian permanent establishment, can hold one, and the ONJN must decide within 30 days of a complete file.

The number that changed is the authorisation tax. Law 141/2025 raised it from 21% of gambling revenue with a EUR 400,000 floor to 30% with a EUR 480,000 floor for authorisations from 1 August 2025, recalculating the ones already running. Add the EUR 300,000 licence tax, the EUR 500,000 responsible-gambling contribution and the 2% monthly tax on deposits that most guides leave out, and Romania is the most expensive fixed-cost licence on this site: EUR 1,280,000 a year before the first stake.

Quick facts

RegulatorOficiul Naţional pentru Jocuri de Noroc ↗
TierTier 2 — Credible domestic / EU regional
Licence typesClass 1 licence — remote gambling operator (B2C), 10 years, plus an annual exploitation authorisation, Class 2 licence — B2B: platform and hosting, software, payment processors, affiliates, certifiers, auditors, conformity bodies (EUR 20,000 a year per category), Class 3 — state-monopoly online lottery
Application costEUR 3,500 documentation analysis + EUR 10,500 issuance per licence (adviser-reported; the ONJN pages could not be read); then EUR 300,000 Class 1 licence tax and EUR 500,000 responsible-gambling contribution before the first day of trading
Annual costEUR 300,000 licence tax + EUR 500,000 responsible-gambling contribution + authorisation tax of 30% of GGR with a EUR 480,000 floor: EUR 1,280,000 a year at minimum, before the 2% tax on deposits
Gaming tax30% of gambling revenue (stakes less prizes), not less than EUR 480,000 a year, since 1 August 2025 (Law 141/2025); 21% with a EUR 400,000 floor from October 2023 to July 2025. Plus 2% of monthly deposits and 5% of advertising contracts
Corporate tax16% standard
SubstanceRomanian company, or an EU/EEA/Swiss company with a Romanian permanent establishment to which all gambling revenue is attributed, gambling as main object, an authorised representative in Romania, Romanian-language filings, mirror server and ONJN reporting
TimelineStatutory decision within 30 days of a complete file (art. 1(4)); advisers report about three months of preparation and a month of review, with the licence taking effect on the first day of the month after approval

Verified facts — fees, tax, capital, market access

Regime: Active · Last verified 15 September 2026 · Next review 14 December 2026 · 11 claims: 10 officially verified, 1 corroborated, 0 estimates. Each row opens its sources.

Calculate my scenario → Compare with the other canonical licences

Official regulator fees, by licence type

Regulator charges only. Adviser, due-diligence and third-party costs are not in this table.

Licence typeFeeAmountCadenceEvidence
Class 1 licence — remote gambling operator (B2C) + annual authorisation10-year term Documentation analysis fee (adviser-reported) EUR 3,500 once
Corroborated

Administrative fees per licence application are reported by advisers at EUR 3,500 for documentation analysis and EUR 10,500 for licence issuance (Class 1 and Class 2 alike), plus EUR 250 per request for the integration or recertification of online games.

Effective from 6 October 2023 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Four adviser sources agree; the ONJN forms and FAQ pages could not be fetched. Our old page said EUR 12,400 with no source.
Licence issuance fee (adviser-reported) EUR 10,500 once
Corroborated

Administrative fees per licence application are reported by advisers at EUR 3,500 for documentation analysis and EUR 10,500 for licence issuance (Class 1 and Class 2 alike), plus EUR 250 per request for the integration or recertification of online games.

Effective from 6 October 2023 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Four adviser sources agree; the ONJN forms and FAQ pages could not be fetched. Our old page said EUR 12,400 with no source.
Class 1 licence tax (annex I, J) EUR 300,000 annual
Officially verified

The Class 1 licence tax for a remote gambling operator with a direct contract with the player is EUR 300,000 a year (OUG 77/2009 annex, pt 1 I J, as set by OUG 82/2023 from 6 October 2023).

Effective from 6 October 2023 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Before October 2023 the licence tax was turnover-banded (EUR 15,600 to 312,000; Chambers). Our old page said EUR 500,000, which is the responsible-gambling contribution, not the licence.
Responsible-gambling contribution to ONJN (art. 10(4)) EUR 500,000 annual
Officially verified

Class 1 remote gambling licensees pay an annual responsible-gambling contribution of EUR 500,000 to the ONJN (art. 10(4) i, as amended by OUG 82/2023); the contribution is a budget claim enforceable on ONJN notification.

Effective from 6 October 2023 · reviewed 15 September 2026
Class 2 licence — B2B (platform/hosting, software, payment processors, affiliates, certifiers, auditors)10-year term Documentation analysis fee (adviser-reported) EUR 3,500 once
Corroborated

Administrative fees per licence application are reported by advisers at EUR 3,500 for documentation analysis and EUR 10,500 for licence issuance (Class 1 and Class 2 alike), plus EUR 250 per request for the integration or recertification of online games.

Effective from 6 October 2023 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Four adviser sources agree; the ONJN forms and FAQ pages could not be fetched. Our old page said EUR 12,400 with no source.
Licence issuance fee (adviser-reported) EUR 10,500 once
Corroborated

Administrative fees per licence application are reported by advisers at EUR 3,500 for documentation analysis and EUR 10,500 for licence issuance (Class 1 and Class 2 alike), plus EUR 250 per request for the integration or recertification of online games.

Effective from 6 October 2023 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Four adviser sources agree; the ONJN forms and FAQ pages could not be fetched. Our old page said EUR 12,400 with no source.
Class 2 licence tax per category (annex I, J) EUR 20,000 annual
Officially verified

A Class 2 licence costs EUR 20,000 a year per category: platform management and hosting, ancillary-activity operators under art. 20(1), payment processors, gambling software producers and distributors, affiliates, certifiers, auditors and conformity-assessment bodies (annex, pt 1 I J).

Effective from 26 February 2015 · reviewed 15 September 2026
Responsible-gambling contribution to ONJN (art. 10(4)) EUR 15,000 annual
Officially verified

Class 2 licensees pay an annual responsible-gambling contribution of EUR 15,000 (art. 10(4) ii); Chambers reports the ONJN applies it per Class 2 licence held.

Effective from 6 October 2023 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Taxes and levies

ChargeBaseRatePaidEvidence
ggr taxONJN (annual authorisation tax, annex II J as amended by Law 141/2025; minimum EUR 480,000 a year) GGR 30% of GGR annual
Officially verified

From 1 August 2025 the annual authorisation tax for Class 1 (and Class 3) remote gambling is 30% of gambling revenue as defined in art. 1^1, and not less than EUR 480,000 a year (Law 141/2025 art. LXII pt 22, amending annex pt 1 II J); authorisations already running were recalculated for the remaining period.

Effective from 1 August 2025

The calculator applies the 30% rate; the EUR 480,000 floor is stated in the label and article, not computed.
levyANAF (OUG 114/2018 art. 53: 2% of participation fees, i.e. player deposits, monthly) TURNOVER 2% of TURNOVER monthly
Officially verified

Since 1 January 2019 online gambling organisers pay a monthly tax of 2% of the total participation fees (player deposits) collected in the month, declared and paid by the 25th of the following month (OUG 114/2018 art. 53); a constitutional challenge was rejected in October 2025.

Effective from 1 January 2019

Omitted by most licence guides. Base is deposits, so it is not computable from a GGR input.

Locked or required capital — not a fee

Capital that must be held is shown here so it is never mixed into fee totals; the cost calculator treats it as locked capital.

Market access — where this licence does and does not reach

Holding this licence does not create a right to take players in every country. Check the rules of the player's country. Rows without an evidence-backed rule say "Needs legal review" rather than assuming access.

Player marketStatusBasisEvidence
Great Britain Local licence required Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014: point-of-consumption licensing by the UKGC.
Officially verified

A Romanian licence does not cover Great Britain: GB-facing operators need a UK Gambling Commission licence.
United StatesNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for Class 1 licence — remote gambling operator (B2C) + annual authorisation and United States.—
CanadaNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for Class 1 licence — remote gambling operator (B2C) + annual authorisation and Canada.—
BrazilNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for Class 1 licence — remote gambling operator (B2C) + annual authorisation and Brazil.—
EU / EEANeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for Class 1 licence — remote gambling operator (B2C) + annual authorisation and EU / EEA.—
Latin AmericaNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for Class 1 licence — remote gambling operator (B2C) + annual authorisation and Latin America.—
AsiaNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for Class 1 licence — remote gambling operator (B2C) + annual authorisation and Asia.—
AfricaNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for Class 1 licence — remote gambling operator (B2C) + annual authorisation and Africa.—

Process and timelinederived: 1-2 months for the Class 1 licence — remote gambling operator (B2C) + annual authorisation

  1. incorporationRomanian company or EU/EEA/Swiss company with a Romanian permanent establishment

    Gambling as main object; police clearance for legal representatives and shareholders; an authorised representative in Romania for foreign companies; guarantee fund of EUR 2,000,000 (EUR 5,000,000 for online casino) in place.

    Officially verified

    Only a company registered in Romania, or a legal person from an EU or EEA state or Switzerland that has registered a permanent establishment in Romania to which all gambling revenue is attributed, may hold a licence (art. 1(2); HG 111/2016 art. 122); a foreign organiser must appoint an authorised representative domiciled in Romania (HG 111/2016 art. 124-125), and gambling must be the company's main object of activity (art. 15).

  2. applicationClass 1 licence from the ONJN Supervisory Committee1-2 months

    File with the documentation analysis and issuance fees (EUR 3,500 + 10,500 as advisers report), Romanian-language documents, the list of contracts with platform, payment, audit, certification and affiliate providers; statutory decision within 30 days of a complete file.

    Officially verified

    Applications for a licence or an authorisation are decided within 30 days of the complete documentation being filed (art. 1(4)); advisers report about three months of preparation, roughly a month of ONJN review, and a licence taking effect on the first day of the month after approval.

    Chambers notes the 30-day deadline is exceeded in practice.

  3. go liveAnnual authorisation and go-live

    Pay the EUR 300,000 licence tax, the EUR 500,000 responsible-gambling contribution and the authorisation tax (30% of GGR, at least EUR 480,000); the licence takes effect on the first day of the month after approval, with certified platform, mirror server and ONJN reporting connected.

    Officially verified

    From 1 August 2025 the annual authorisation tax for Class 1 (and Class 3) remote gambling is 30% of gambling revenue as defined in art. 1^1, and not less than EUR 480,000 a year (Law 141/2025 art. LXII pt 22, amending annex pt 1 II J); authorisations already running were recalculated for the remaining period.

    The calculator applies the 30% rate; the EUR 480,000 floor is stated in the label and article, not computed.

Sources and change log

Primary sources (statute, regulator, ministry, tax authority) are listed first. Superseded figures are kept, not deleted.

Spot an error? Submit a correction — every change is versioned with its source and effective date.

Pros

  • Every number is in the BOE-equivalent (Monitorul Oficial): licence, authorisation, contributions, guarantees and the player tax brackets
  • Ten-year licence with a 30-day statutory decision deadline, no tender and no cap on the number of licensees
  • Online is about 71% of the Romanian gambling market according to H2 Gambling Capital (2026), and the ONJN reported a record number of online licensees for Q1 2026
  • Class 2 is cheap and light: EUR 20,000 a year, no permanent establishment, no guarantee

Cons

  • Authorisation tax jumped from 21% to 30% of GGR on 1 August 2025, with the floor raised to EUR 480,000
  • EUR 1,280,000 of fixed annual charges before the first bet; EUR 5,000,000 guarantee for online casino
  • 2% monthly tax on deposits and 5% on advertising contracts sit outside the headline rate and most guides
  • Rates changed in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025; OUG 7/2026 handed land-based venues to local councils

Best for

  • Operators committed to Romanian-language casino and betting at scale, where EUR 1.28m of fixed annual charges is a rounding error
  • B2B suppliers and affiliates that need the Class 2 licence to serve Romanian licensees at EUR 20,000 a year per category

Class 1 and Class 2: what each licence is and what it costs

A Class 1 licence goes to the operator that contracts with the player: casino, slots, poker, bingo and betting online, EUR 300,000 a year in licence tax (annex, pt 1 I J), valid 10 years (art. 12), with a separate annual authorisation per activity. A Class 2 licence covers everyone around the operator: platform management and hosting, gambling software producers and distributors, payment processors, affiliates, certifiers, auditors and conformity-assessment bodies, at EUR 20,000 a year per category, also for 10 years, with no permanent establishment and no guarantee. Both pay an annual responsible-gambling contribution to the ONJN: EUR 500,000 for Class 1, EUR 15,000 for Class 2 (art. 10(4)), applied per licence in practice. Administrative fees are reported by advisers at EUR 3,500 for the file review and EUR 10,500 for issuance; the ONJN's own pages sat behind a JavaScript challenge when I tried to read them, so those two figures are held as reported.

The authorisation tax: 30% of GGR, EUR 480,000 floor, since 1 August 2025

Romania taxes gambling through the exploitation authorisation. For remote gambling the annex to OUG 77/2009 sets the annual tax as a percentage of "gambling revenue", which art. 1^1 defines as stakes less prizes. From 6 October 2023 (OUG 82/2023) the rate was 21% with a EUR 400,000 minimum; Law 141/2025, art. LXII pt 22, replaced it with 30% and a EUR 480,000 minimum for tax due from 1 August 2025, and authorisations already in force were recalculated for the rest of their term. On EUR 5 million of GGR the tax is EUR 1,500,000; at EUR 1.6 million of GGR the 30% and the floor meet, so any operator below that pays the floor. Two more charges live outside the headline rate: a monthly tax of 2% of participation fees, meaning player deposits, since 1 January 2019 (OUG 114/2018 art. 53, upheld against a constitutional challenge in October 2025), and a 5% promotion tax on the value of billboard, street and television advertising contracts (art. 1^2). Corporate income tax is 16%.

Guarantee, company and timeline

Art. 29(8), as rewritten by OUG 82/2023, fixes the guarantee fund at EUR 2,000,000 for online gambling other than online casino and EUR 5,000,000 for online casino activity from 1 January 2025, regardless of revenue; 2024 was banded by revenue. The applicant must be a Romanian company or a legal person from an EU or EEA state or Switzerland with a Romanian permanent establishment to which all gambling revenue is attributed (art. 1(2)), with gambling as its main object, police clearance for legal representatives and shareholders (art. 15), and, for a foreign company, an authorised representative domiciled in Romania (HG 111/2016 art. 124). The ONJN Supervisory Committee must decide on a licence or authorisation within 30 days of a complete file (art. 1(4)); Chambers records that the deadline is exceeded in practice, and CMS puts the whole route at about three months of preparation and a month of review, with the licence effective on the first day of the month after approval. Everything is filed in Romanian.

What Law 141/2025 and Law 239/2025 did to Class 2 suppliers

The 2025 laws turned Class 2 licensees into enforcement agents. A Class 2 licensee may not provide any ancillary service to an operator that offers gambling to players in Romania, in Romanian or another international language, or takes deposits in lei or crypto-assets, without a Class 1 licence and a valid authorisation, and nothing on the ONJN blacklist (art. 1(5^2) to (5^4), as tightened on 18 December 2025). Software, platform and payment licensees must run their own geolocation independent of the operator's platform, block Romanian players on unlicensed sites, and file a monthly report with the ONJN by the 10th listing blocked players and the unlicensed domains involved (art. 1(5^5)-(5^8)). The ONJN blacklist is the reference list. For an affiliate or a game studio the licence itself is cheap; the compliance work is not.

OUG 7/2026 and the land-based squeeze

OUG 7/2026 (Monitorul Oficial 146, 25 February 2026) added a third permission for physical venues: after the ONJN licence and authorisation, an annual functioning authorisation from the local council, which sets the zones where gambling may operate and a local tax per square metre, and which may refuse gambling on its territory altogether (new art. 18^1). The ordinance does not touch remote gambling rates or conditions, which is why the online rows above did not move. For an omnichannel brand the effect is on the retail side; Ana-Maria Baciu called it a radical change for slot halls and betting shops in a JURIDICE.ro interview in April 2026. Player winnings are taxed at source under Codul fiscal art. 110 as amended by Law 141/2025: 4% up to RON 10,000, RON 400 plus 20% to RON 66,750, RON 11,750 plus 40% above.

Application process

  1. Romanian company, or EU/EEA/Swiss company with a Romanian permanent establishment; gambling as main object; police clearance for representatives and shareholders
  2. Guarantee fund in place: EUR 2,000,000 (EUR 5,000,000 for online casino); authorised representative in Romania for foreign companies
  3. Class 1 file in Romanian with platform, payment, audit, certification and affiliate contracts listed; administrative fees EUR 3,500 + 10,500 (as reported)
  4. ONJN Supervisory Committee decision within 30 days of a complete file (statutory); certified platform, mirror server and reporting connected
  5. Pay EUR 300,000 licence tax and EUR 500,000 contribution; annual authorisation at 30% of GGR, minimum EUR 480,000
  6. Licence effective the first day of the month after approval; 2% deposit tax monthly by the 25th; 5% on advertising contracts

Operational realities

Capital requirements

Guarantee fund EUR 2,000,000 for online gambling other than online casino and EUR 5,000,000 for online casino, from 1 January 2025 regardless of revenue (art. 29(8)). The EUR 500,000 responsible-gambling contribution and EUR 300,000 licence tax are expenses, not capital.

Player protection

ONJN blacklist of unlicensed sites with ISP and Class 2 blocking; self-exclusion register; deposit limits and risk-profiling duties; outdoor advertising panels above 35 m2 banned since Law 107/2024; 5% promotion tax; withholding tax on winnings at 4%, 20% and 40%.

Banking & payment processing

Player funds must sit in a Romanian bank account and all gambling revenue is attributed to the Romanian permanent establishment; the 2% deposit tax is calculated on every transfer into a player account and paid by the 25th of the following month.

B2B vs B2C licensing

Class 1 = B2C operator with the player contract. Class 2 = every supplier and affiliate, EUR 20,000 a year per category and EUR 15,000 contribution, no permanent establishment or guarantee, but geolocation, blocking and monthly reporting duties since August 2025.

Recent developments (2025-2026)

Law 141/2025 (Monitorul Oficial 699, 25 July 2025): online authorisation tax 30% of GGR, minimum EUR 480,000, from 1 August 2025; Class 2 licensees must geolocate players, block unlicensed platforms and report monthly; player tax 4% / 20% / 40% by bracket. Law 239/2025 (18 December 2025) tightened the Class 2 service ban. OUG 7/2026 (25 February 2026): annual local council authorisation and per-square-metre local tax for physical venues; online untouched. ONJN reported a record number of online licensees for Q1 2026.

How it compares

Versus Spain: both are national EU licences with no passporting; Spain has no open call, Romania grants on application within 30 days but charges EUR 1.28m a year at minimum. Versus Estonia: Estonia's 5.5% tax against Romania's 30% floor-based tax is the widest spread among the EU licences on this site.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Romanian online gambling licence cost per year?

At least EUR 1,280,000: EUR 300,000 licence tax, EUR 500,000 responsible-gambling contribution and the authorisation tax at 30% of GGR with a EUR 480,000 floor. Add 2% of monthly deposits and 5% of advertising contracts.

What is the Romanian gambling tax in 2026?

30% of gambling revenue (stakes less prizes), not less than EUR 480,000 a year, since 1 August 2025 under Law 141/2025. It was 21% with a EUR 400,000 floor from October 2023. Corporate income tax is 16%.

What is a Class 2 licence and who needs one?

The B2B licence: platform and hosting providers, software studios and distributors, payment processors, affiliates, certifiers and auditors serving a Romanian licensee. EUR 20,000 a year per category, 10 years, EUR 15,000 contribution, no permanent establishment.

Does a foreign company need a Romanian entity?

A Romanian company, or an EU, EEA or Swiss company that registers a Romanian permanent establishment to which all gambling revenue is attributed, plus an authorised representative domiciled in Romania.

How long does the ONJN take?

By statute, 30 days from a complete file. Advisers report about three months of preparation, a month of review, and the licence taking effect on the first day of the month after approval.

Did OUG 7/2026 change online licensing?

No. OUG 7/2026 requires an annual local council authorisation and a per-square-metre local tax for physical venues and lets councils ban gambling locally. Remote gambling rates and conditions were not amended.

Named experts covering Romania

Real, publicly-verifiable practitioners whose work informs our coverage of this jurisdiction.

Ana-Maria Baciu Managing Partner · Baciu Partners Gambling regulation · ONJN licensing · Advertising Cosmina Maria Simion Managing Partner · WH Simion & Partners Gambling regulation · ONJN licensing · Gaming M&A Sergiu Crețu Partner, Head of Gambling · Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații Online gambling licensing (ONJN) · Class 1 and Class 2 licensing · Gambling regulatory compliance Mihai Fifoiu Senior Managing Associate · Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP) Gaming law · Online gambling licensing (ONJN) · Corporate and M&A

Further reading on Romania

Other Tier 2 jurisdictions

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