Romania operates a licensing system for gambling, including online casino games and betting, under Government Emergency Ordinance No. 77/2009 and its implementing Methodological Norms. Licences are issued by the National Gambling Office (Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc, ONJN). Operators need both a ten-year licence and an annual authorisation. Lotteries remain a state monopoly. Romania’s tax and advertising rules have changed often in recent years, and its tax on players’ winnings is progressive. This guide explains the framework, the licence classes, how operators and players are taxed, and the protection measures available, and flags where the official position could not be confirmed.
Key points
- The core legislation is Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) No. 77/2009 on the organisation and operation of gambling, with its Methodological Norms.
- The ONJN licenses and supervises operators. Class I licences cover gambling operators, including remote (online) operators. Class II licences cover suppliers of related services such as payment processing and technical support.
- Licences run for ten years, but operators must also hold an annual authorisation.
- CMS reports a 30% tax on online gross gaming revenue, with an annual minimum of EUR 480,000.
- Players’ winnings are taxed by withholding at progressive rates of 4%, 20% and 40% (PwC, reviewed September 2026).
Last reviewed: 5 October 2026.
Overview
Romanian law treats gambling as a regulated economic activity rather than a prohibited one. Land-based casinos, slot-machine halls, betting shops, bingo and online gambling may all be offered by private companies that hold the required licence and authorisation. Lotteries are the main exception and remain reserved to the state. In this guide, a “monopoly” means an activity that the law reserves to one state-designated entity, so that no private company can be licensed for it.
According to CMS’s guide to Romanian gambling law, an activity is gambling if three elements are all present:
- a financial benefit, usually money, is offered;
- the benefit results from a public offer by the organiser of a potential gain, which the participant accepts;
- the participant pays a fee or stake to take part.
Games that depend purely on skill, and arcade games without a random element, fall outside the definition.
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Legal framework
The central instrument is GEO No. 77/2009 on the organisation and operation of gambling. An emergency ordinance is legislation adopted by the government rather than by Parliament, which Parliament may later approve or amend. The ordinance is supplemented by Methodological Norms, which set out the detailed licensing, technical and reporting requirements, and by ONJN orders on specific matters. One example is ONJN Order No. 370/2021 on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing in the gambling sector, cited by CMS.
Advertising is also governed outside the gambling legislation. CMS notes that an amendment to the Audio-Visual Code took effect in October 2025 (see below). The taxation of players’ winnings is governed by the Fiscal Code.
EU law context
Romania has been an EU member state since 2007. There is no EU legislation specific to gambling services. The European Commission explains that member states may adopt their own model, from monopolies to multi-operator licensing, and that “no particular system is favoured over the others”. National rules must nevertheless respect the Treaty freedoms as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In Sporting Odds (C-3/17, 2018), the Court confirmed that a “dual system” is acceptable if it pursues legitimate aims consistently. In such a system some games, such as lotteries, are a state monopoly while others are licensed.
In 2017 the Commission decided to close its infringement procedures and the handling of complaints in the gambling sector, as part of a more strategic approach to enforcing EU law. As CMS notes, operators licensed in other EU member states must still obtain a Romanian licence or authorisation to serve Romanian players.
Regulator and licensing model
The ONJN is the licensing and supervisory authority. Its public register of gaming means is organised by licence class:
- Class I licences are for primary gambling organisers, the businesses that offer games directly to customers. They cover conventional (land-based) and remote gambling in a business-to-consumer model.
- Class II licences are for companies carrying out activities related to gambling, such as payment processing and technical support. CMS adds software developers and affiliate marketers.
The register is a register of “gaming means” (mijloace de joc). It records the equipment, software and other means of play used by licensed entities in each class, so it can be used to check whether a company and its gaming means are known to the regulator. In its 2023 overview, CMS describes the current licensing structure as dating from a 2016 reform. That reform set new requirements for traditional and online gambling and extended licensing to ancillary services such as the distribution and maintenance of gambling equipment.
The difference matters in practice. A Class II licence held by a software supplier or payment processor does not authorise it to run an online casino.
According to CMS, licensing works in two layers:
- Licence: Class I and Class II licences are granted for ten years.
- Annual authorisation: Class I operators also need a gambling authorisation, which is renewed every year and on which the annual authorisation taxes are paid.
CMS also reports that minimum share capital requirements range from RON 30,000 for slot-machine operators to RON 2 million for lotteries, and are added together where one operator applies for several categories. A Class I application typically takes about three months to prepare and about one month for ONJN review, and the licence enters into force on the first day of the following month. A Class II application takes about one month to prepare and one month for review. The ONJN may request any additional information or documents it considers relevant to licensing or supervision. CMS refers to a further class covering online lottery games, which are reserved to the state.
Online gambling
Online casino games, online betting and other remote games may be offered by companies holding a Class I licence and a remote-gambling authorisation from the ONJN. Online lotteries are reserved to the state. CMS highlights one distinctive requirement for remote operators. They must hold an account with a bank in Romania into which all player funds are deposited. The account must be kept separate from the operator’s other accounts, and player money may not be used for any other purpose.
We were unable to access the ONJN’s main website when this page was reviewed on 5 October 2026. The CMS guide does not describe website or payment blocking. This page therefore does not describe the ONJN’s current enforcement lists against unlicensed operators, and readers should consult the ONJN directly.
Advertising
CMS summarises the main restrictions on gambling advertising as follows:
- physical advertising materials may not be placed near schools, other educational facilities or religious establishments;
- gambling advertising on television and radio is limited to certain broadcast times;
- bonus promotions may be advertised only on the operator’s own premises or websites, or those of its affiliates;
- since October 2025, an amendment to the Audio-Visual Code bars celebrities, and people whose online notoriety may encourage gambling, from appearing in audio-visual gambling advertisements. The ONJN has also advised operators to refrain from using celebrities in promotional material.
Position of players
The sources reviewed for this page, the CMS guides and the ONJN register, describe the obligations of operators. They do not describe sanctions for players who use websites without a Romanian licence, and we found no record of players being prosecuted for doing so. Because we could not access the ONJN’s main website, we cannot rule out administrative provisions aimed at players. This point should therefore be treated as unverified.
In practice, players at unlicensed sites lose the protections that Romanian law gives customers of licensed operators. These include segregated player funds in a Romanian bank, ONJN supervision and access to the national self-exclusion system described below.
Taxation
Operators
Romania has a layered set of gambling taxes, and CMS warns that “the taxation regime changes relatively frequently”. As set out in its current guide, the main charges include:
| Charge | Amount (per CMS) |
|---|---|
| Tax on online gross gaming revenue | 30%, with a minimum of EUR 480,000 a year |
| Annual licence tax, online operators | EUR 300,000 |
| Annual licence tax, land-based operators | EUR 15,000 to EUR 200,000, depending on the activity |
| Licence issuance fee | EUR 10,500 |
| Monthly tax on participation fees collected | 2% |
| Contribution to the social responsibility fund (Class I operators) | EUR 500,000 |
| Video lottery terminals | 4.5% of gambling income |
| Annual “vice” tax on slot machines and VLTs | EUR 500 per authorised machine |
Gross gaming revenue means total stakes minus winnings paid out. Because these rates change often, operators should check the current text of the law with the ONJN or a Romanian adviser.
Players
Romania taxes gambling winnings at source. According to PwC’s Worldwide Tax Summaries (last reviewed 25 September 2026), winnings are taxed progressively:
- 4% on gross income up to RON 10,000;
- RON 400 plus 20% of the amount above RON 10,000, up to RON 66,750;
- RON 11,750 plus 40% of the amount above RON 66,750.
The operator withholds the tax when it pays out winnings, and the tax withheld is final. For online gambling, the tax is withheld each time money is transferred from the player’s gambling account to their bank account.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
CMS states that all operators must follow responsible-gambling rules and make an annual financial contribution to a fund used to combat gambling addiction. For Class I operators, that contribution is EUR 500,000. At EU level, Commission Recommendation 2014/478/EU sets out non-binding principles on player registration, age verification, self-exclusion, spending limits and advertising.
The main support organisation is Asociația Joc Responsabil (the Responsible Gaming Association), registered in 2017. It offers:
- a free helpline on 0800 800 099, Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00;
- a 24-hour online chat with psychologists;
- an anonymous self-assessment questionnaire;
- five free evaluation and counselling sessions in Bucharest, Constanța, Craiova, Cluj-Napoca and Iași;
- support groups for players and families.
The association is funded by gambling industry partners. It refers people who want to exclude themselves to the official self-exclusion system run through the ONJN. General guidance is also available in our responsible gambling guide.
Recent and upcoming developments
- Taxation. CMS’s current guide reports a 30% tax on online gross gaming revenue with a minimum of EUR 480,000 a year, and annual licence taxes of EUR 300,000 for online operators. CMS describes the regime as changing frequently.
- Personal income tax on winnings. The lowest band of the progressive tax stood at 4% when PwC last reviewed it in September 2026.
- Advertising. Since October 2025, the Audio-Visual Code bars celebrities and online influencers from audio-visual gambling advertisements.
- Anti-money laundering. ONJN Order No. 370/2021 remains the main sector-specific AML instrument.
Casino listings for players in Romania
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not show that an operator holds a Romanian licence. Only operators with a Class I licence and a valid remote-gambling authorisation from the ONJN may lawfully offer online casino games to players in Romania. Please check the operator in the ONJN’s official register and remember that a supplier’s Class II licence is not an operating licence.
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Sources and further reading
- National Gambling Office (ONJN), Registrul public al mijloacelor de joc: alege clasa (accessed 5 October 2026).
- CMS (Popescu, C. and Predescu, S.), Gambling laws in Romania (accessed 5 October 2026).
- CMS (Popescu, C. and Linca, A.), Online gambling regulation in Romania (2023).
- PwC, Romania: Individual – Income determination (reviewed 25 September 2026).
- Asociația Joc Responsabil, Joc Responsabil (accessed 5 October 2026).
- Court of Justice of the European Union, Sporting Odds Ltd, C-3/17 (2018).
- European Commission, Commission closes infringement procedures and complaints in the gambling sector (2017).
- European Commission, Gambling (accessed 5 October 2026).
- European Commission, Recommendation 2014/478/EU on principles for the protection of consumers and players of online gambling services (2014).
