Romania Class 1 Online Gambling License and Authorization
Romania Class 1 operator-license and annual-authorization rules, including fees, tax, capital, guarantees, timing, local presence, and supplier boundaries.
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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.
License facts: National Gambling Office (Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc, ONJN)
- 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
- 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. No fixed end-to-end period covers 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.
Licensing decision matrix
Romania requires the Class 1 operator license and a current annual operating authorization. A Class 2 supplier permission or foreign operator license cannot replace either gate.
Definedfixed by the route or ruleScope-specificchanges with the entity, product, or approvalUnresolvedno dependable rule or figure yet
- Applicant route Defined
- A Romania-facing remote operator needs Class 1 plus the annual operating authorization. Specified B2B functions use Class 2; it does not authorize the operator customer.
- Applicant entity Defined
- A Romanian company may apply. An EU, EEA, or Swiss entity can apply through a Romanian permanent establishment that recognizes the gambling revenue.
- Local presence Defined
- A qualifying foreign operator needs the Romanian permanent establishment and authorized representative. Local technical, monitoring, guarantee, and player-control arrangements remain part of the file.
- Key people Scope-specific
- Owners, controllers, representatives, management, and qualified operating staff enter the suitability and operating review. The exact people follow the entity and service model.
- Technical approval Defined
- The platform, games, monitoring integration, real-location controls, and player and financial systems require the applicable certification and ONJN acceptance.
- Tax or revenue base Defined
- The annual authorization tax is 30% of statutory gaming revenue with a EUR 480,000 floor. The annual license fee, contribution, guarantees, and 16% profit tax are separate.
- Ongoing duties Defined
- The operator maintains its annual authorization, tax, contribution, guarantees, player-deposit protection, monitoring integration, self-exclusion, reporting, and technical controls.
- Approval timing Defined
- ONJN has 30 days to resolve a complete license or authorization request. Entity, guarantee, certification, integration, and incomplete-file work sit outside that clock.
- Fees and cost Defined
- Recurring regulatory charges include a EUR 300,000 annual Class 1 fee, at least EUR 480,000 authorization tax, and a EUR 500,000 annual contribution, plus guarantees and capital.
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Compare licensing service providersFAQ
What are the official Class 1 costs?+
The recurring public charges include a EUR 300,000 annual license fee, authorization tax at 30 percent of statutory gaming revenue with a EUR 480,000 annual minimum, and a EUR 500,000 annual contribution. License analysis and issuance add EUR 3,500 and EUR 10,500, and the authorization-request analysis fee is EUR 250. These figures do not include capital, guarantees, testing, technical work, banking, advisors, or implementation, so treating them as one all-in license quote is wrong.
How long does an ONJN application take?+
ONJN has thirty days to resolve a complete license or authorization request. That clock does not include preparing the corporate, ownership, tax, guarantee, technical, certification, monitoring, and policy package or curing an incomplete file. No fixed two-to-four-month end-to-end period applies.
Can a foreign company apply?+
Yes, within the statutory boundary. A legal entity from the EU, EEA, or Switzerland may apply if it registers a permanent establishment in Romania, recognizes the gambling revenue there, and meets the representative and operating requirements. Other foreign structures do not fit that route merely because they hold an offshore or another EU country's license.
How much financial security is required?+
The fiscal guarantee is EUR 2,000,000 for online gambling other than online casino and EUR 5,000,000 for online casino from January 1, 2025. Minimum paid share capital for online gambling is RON 1,000,000. A separate player-deposit guarantee fund is also required under ONJN rules. These are different requirements and should not be collapsed into the annual fee or tax figure.
What is the difference between the license and authorization?+
The Class 1 license is the operator approval and may run for ten years. The operating authorization is activity-specific and valid for one year. The operator must maintain both, along with the annual fees, tax, guarantees, technical controls, and reporting obligations. A long license term does not remove the annual authorization gate.
Does a Class 2 supplier approval let a customer enter Romania?+
No. Class 2 addresses specified supplier functions. The customer still needs the correct Class 1 license and annual authorization. Current law also restricts Class 2 suppliers from serving unlicensed Romania-facing operators and blacklisted domains, so the exact supplier entity, service, customer entity, domain, and player location all matter.
Does an MGA or Curaçao license cover Romanian players?+
No. Romania is a local regulated market. A foreign license can be relevant to the group's wider operating structure but does not replace the Romanian Class 1 license and annual authorization for Romanian-facing activity.
How should I verify a Romanian operator?+
Use ONJN's remote-operator register and match the exact legal entity, approved activity, brand, and domain. Do not rely on a logo, a group-level license statement, a supplier certificate, or an affiliate's license when the contracting or player-facing entity is different.