Romania Class 1 Online Gambling License and Authorization
Verified Romania Class 1 operator-license and annual-authorization rules, including official fees, tax, capital, guarantees, timing, local presence, and supplier boundaries.
4 linked sources · Research snapshot 2026-07-12
Romania uses a local Class 1 operator license plus an annual operating authorization. The license can run for ten years, but the authorization lasts one year, and neither a foreign operator license nor a supplier's Class 2 approval replaces those Class 1 requirements. The contracting entity, Romanian permanent establishment, approved products, technical system, player controls, guarantees, and supplier relationships must match the ONJN file.
The minimum recurring public charges are substantial: EUR 300,000 for the annual Class 1 fee, authorization tax at 30 percent of statutory gaming revenue with a EUR 480,000 floor, and a EUR 500,000 annual contribution. Administrative fees, RON 1,000,000 minimum share capital, a EUR 2,000,000 or EUR 5,000,000 fiscal guarantee, and the separate player-deposit guarantee sit outside that subtotal. The law gives ONJN thirty days to resolve a complete request but does not publish one end-to-end launch promise.
- Cost boundary
- For a remote Class 1 operator, the current official charges include a EUR 3,500 license-file analysis fee, a EUR 10,500 license-issuance fee, a EUR 250 authorization-request analysis fee, a EUR 300,000 annual Class 1 license fee, annual authorization tax at 30 percent of statutory gaming revenue with a EUR 480,000 minimum, and a EUR 500,000 annual contribution. A new game integration or recertification request carries another EUR 250 analysis fee. These amounts are separate, not one license price. Minimum paid share capital for online gambling is RON 1,000,000. From January 1, 2025, the fiscal guarantee is EUR 2,000,000 for online gambling other than online casino and EUR 5,000,000 for online casino. The law also requires a separate player-deposit guarantee fund under ONJN rules. Capital and guarantees are financial requirements, not regulator fees, and professional, testing, technical, banking, and implementation work has no official all-in price.
- Process timing
- The consolidated ordinance says a complete license or authorization request must be resolved within thirty days. That is the regulator's statutory decision clock after the file is complete, not a thirty-day launch guarantee. The official sources reviewed do not publish a fixed end-to-end period for entity setup, permanent-establishment registration, ownership review, technical certification, monitoring integration, guarantees, banking, policies, or remediation of an incomplete file.
- Tax / revenue model
- The remote Class 1 authorization tax is 30 percent of statutory gaming revenue, subject to an annual minimum of EUR 480,000, effective from August 1, 2025. It is separate from the EUR 300,000 annual license fee and EUR 500,000 annual contribution. Romania's Fiscal Code states a general 16 percent profit-tax rate. Its special minimum-tax rule for casino-type activity may matter in some structures, but it should not be presented as applying identically to every remote product without entity-specific tax analysis. Player-winnings withholding is another separate obligation.
- Applicant / local requirements
- The applicant may be a Romanian company or a legal entity from the EU, EEA, or Switzerland with a permanent establishment registered in Romania. The law requires the gambling revenue to be recognized at that Romanian permanent establishment. The implementing rules also require an authorized representative in Romania for a qualifying foreign remote operator. The file must cover ownership and fitness, technical and monitoring arrangements, certified systems, player and financial controls, guarantees, and the staff and service relationships used for the regulated activity. Joint operation is allowed only within the statutory licensed structure; agreements cannot give an unlicensed entity the right to conduct gambling, and player interaction must remain with the operator's own qualified staff or qualifying affiliate staff.
- Term / continuation
- A Class 1 or Class 2 license is issued for ten years, while the operating authorization is valid for one year. The annual Class 1 fee, authorization tax, contribution, guarantees, reporting, technical controls, and other continuing obligations remain in force during the license term. A ten-year license without a current annual authorization does not by itself permit continued operation.
Changes effective in 2025 raised the remote authorization tax to 30 percent with a EUR 480,000 minimum and updated player-tax and technical rules. The current ordinance also requires integration with Romania's self-exclusion framework. Law 239/2025 tightened the Class 2 boundary: suppliers may not support unlicensed Romania-facing operators or blacklisted domains, and specified platform, software, payment, hosting, and related providers must apply independent real-location controls where the statute requires them. February 2026 amendments also changed physical-location rules for certain land-based activity. The exact consolidated text and ONJN instructions should be rechecked before filing because this framework changed repeatedly during 2025 and 2026.
Evidence reviewed · Research snapshot 2026-07-12 · Review due 2026-08-12