Interested to know which gambling games require gambling license in Romania? We have you covered with lots of information, sit back with a cup of coffee and start reading the information provided.

More information about gambling license:

Question: Which institution supervises gambling in Romania?

Answer: The organization and operation of gambling activities on the territory of Romania constitutes a state monopoly and is carried out exclusively under the terms of Emergency Ordinance no. 77/2009, as amended.

The State may grant the right to organize and operate gambling activities under the terms of the mentioned Emergency Ordinance, on the basis of a gambling organization license for each type of activity, as classified in the Ordinance, and a gambling operating license, nominal and time-limited documents, to be operated directly by the license holder.

Question: What is gambling?

Answer: Gambling is a commercial activity which cumulatively fulfills the following conditions: material winnings, usually in cash, are awarded following the public offer by the organiser of a potential win and the acceptance of the offer by the participant, with the charging of a direct or hidden participation fee, the winnings being awarded by random selection of the results of the events which are the object of the game, regardless of the way they are produced.

Games of chance are not considered gambling and do not require the licensing process for:

• raffles organised in schools, kindergartens or other communities and which are of an entertaining and non-profit nature for the organizers;
• games of an entertaining type, operated by means of machines, apparatus, devices of any kind and which do not involve winnings based on random elements, but are intended to test the strength, intelligence and dexterity of the participant;
• actions organised by various economic agents under the terms of the Ordinance, with the aim of stimulating sales and which do not involve a participation fee, i.e. no additional expenditure on the part of the participants and no increase in the price of the product which it had before the advertising action was carried out.

Question: What are the activities for which a license is required in Romania?

Answer: The activities for which it is possible to apply for a gambling license are the following:

1. lottery games,
2. betting,
3. games of chance characteristic of casino activity (specific means may be: playing cards, dice, roulette balls, roulettes and gaming tables, including their auxiliary installations);
4. slot-machine games,
5. bingo games played in gaming halls,
6. bingo games organised through television network systems,
7. bingo games organised via internet, fixed or mobile telephone systems;
8. on-line betting, representing the activity of fixed odds betting, organised via internet communication systems, fixed or mobile telephone systems;
9. on-line gambling representing all games of chance other than those defined in a), e), f), g) and h).

Question: How long is the gambling license valid?

Answer: the license to organize gambling is granted to the economic agent who fulfills the conditions for organizing the activities covered by the O.U.G. no. 77/2009, as amended. The licence is valid for 5 years from the date of granting.

Question: What are the necessary steps to obtain the license for organizing gambling in Romania? What about the operating licence?

Answer: In order to obtain the license to organize gambling, you must:

• economic agents to provide proof:
  • the existence of the organisation of games of chance as their main activity;
  • the existence of the police approval granted to the administrators or legal representatives of the legal entity;
  • the constitution of the subscribed and paid-up share capital under the conditions of the above-mentioned ordinance;
• to submit criminal records or other documents issued by the competent authorities within whose area of responsibility the last known domicile is located, showing that no final court sentence has been pronounced against any of the administrators or legal representatives of the legal entity for which rehabilitation has not occurred, in Romania or in a foreign country, for an offence provided for by this law or for another offence committed with intent for which a sentence of at least 2 years’ imprisonment has been imposed;
• proof of the proposed space and its compliance with the requirements established by law.

In order to obtain a gambling license, economic operators must prove that:

• they hold a valid gambling license on the date of the application for a gambling license or have applied for a gambling license;
• the proposed space is registered at the trade registry office by the organizer in question in accordance with the legal provisions in force for the conduct of commercial activities in buildings and meets the requirements provided for in the implementing rules of this emergency ordinance;
• the proposed space is not located in the premises of an educational establishment, including its related campuses, cultural, art, health, social, religious and similar establishments or in the perimeter delimited for them; it is forbidden to hold gambling in places which, due to their location, would obstruct traffic or limit free access to other places of interest (premises in buildings, pedestrian walkways, public transport stations, etc.); exceptionally, it is allowed to hold gambling in cinemas, auditoriums, sports halls, houses of culture and others of this kind, provided that the following conditions are met: separate access for players, no disturbance of other activities and total restriction of access for minors;
• the casino-type activity must be organised in buildings which are not used for residential purposes or in locations which are part of hotels with a classification, according to the national rules in force, of at least 3 stars;
• the gaming means and the proposed locations/spaces comply with the conditions laid down in this Emergency Ordinance and its implementing rules;
• slot-machine type gaming means are equipped with an integrated electronic system for monitoring, recording and recording of all operating operations, being an integral part of the construction of the respective gaming means or added afterwards (black-box type), which allows the control of the authorities provided for in the Ordinance on the organization and operation of gambling. The requirements to be met by these mechanisms, the conditions of approval for entities that add black-box systems, their installation and the monitoring of the activity are provided for in the implementing rules of this emergency ordinance;
• betting rooms will be operated by means of independent computer programs, unique to the organizing company, regardless of the number of locations where the respective activity is carried out, with the obligation to centralize in a central electronic system located in Romania the information that will highlight each connected gaming terminal, the total participation fees collected and the total prizes awarded. The central electronic system, by and on behalf of the organizer, will be connected to a terminal located at the Ministry of Public Finance, made available free of charge by the organizers, and will contain or allow access to information on: the total participation fees collected on any given day, the total prizes awarded on that day, as well as the record of the terminals interconnected in the system (their number and the address at which each is operated). At least 30 days prior to obtaining the gambling operating license, each betting venue must be identified in the central system. Any subsequent changes will be communicated at least 15 days before they become operational;
• own all the technical equipment that ensures the support for the organization and transmission of these types of games of chance on the territory of Romania for games of chance such as online betting, bingo games organized through internet communication systems, fixed or mobile telephone systems, online games of chance, with the exception of this provision for economic operators authorized in this field in a Member State of the European Union and who own the technical equipment necessary for operation in a Member State of the European Union, with the obligation to connect them to the bodies referred to in Article 19 para. (1) of the Ordinance;
• the additional conditions to be fulfilled by the economic operator for obtaining the license to organize and the authorization to operate the games of chance provided for by the law are regulated by the implementing rules of the specified emergency ordinance.

Question: What are the fees charged for the authorization of gambling activities in Romania?

Answer: We present below the FEES CHARGED FOR ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF GAMBLING:

The fee related to the gambling license (annual):

1. For lottery games: 500.000 lei
2. For mutual bets: 200.000 lei
3. For fixed odds betting: 100.000 lei
4. For gambling characteristic of casino activity: 400.000 lei
5. For slot-machine games: 25.000 lei
6. For bingo games held in gaming halls: 40.000 lei
7. For bingo games of chance organised through television network systems: 200.000 lei
8. For online betting games of chance: 100.000 lei
9. For bingo games organised via internet communication systems, fixed or mobile telephone systems: 100.000 lei
10. For on-line gambling: 400.000 lei
11. For on-line lottery games: 500.000 lei
12. For on-line mutual betting: 200.000 lei

Fees related to the gambling operating licence (annual):

1. For lottery games: 800.000 lei
2. For mutual bets: 400.000 lei
3. For fixed-odds betting: 5% of the organiser’s actual receipts, but not less than 250,000 lei, on the basis of the technical and economic efficiency documentation submitted by the economic operator.

• For games of chance characteristic of casino activity:
• i. for each table, in the municipality of Bucharest 250.000 lei
• ii. for each table, in locations other than Bucharest 120.000 lei

1. For each slot-machine: 8.000 lei
2. For bingo games held in gambling halls: 30.000 lei for each hall, as well as 3% of the nominal value of the cards purchased from the National Company “Imprimeria Nationala” – S.A., to be paid in advance to the State Treasury, with the presentation of the payment order endorsed by the Treasury upon collection of the cards.
3. For bingo games of chance organized through television network systems: 10% of the actual revenue realized at the level of the organizer, but not less than 400,000 lei, based on the technical-economic efficiency documentation submitted by the economic operator.
4. For bingo games organised by means of internet communication systems, fixed or mobile telephone systems: 10% of the actual revenue generated at the level of the organiser, but not less than 400,000 lei, on the basis of the technical-economic efficiency documentation submitted by the economic operator.
5. For on-line gambling: 1.5% of the actual revenue generated at the level of the organiser, but not less than 400,000 lei, based on the technical-economic efficiency documentation submitted by the economic operator.
6. For on-line lottery games: 800.000 lei
7. For on-line mutual bets: 400.000 lei

We also detail the MINIMUM VALUE OF THE SUBSCRIBED AND CURRENT SHARE CAPITAL AT THE DATE OF THE APPLICATION FOR THE LICENSE TO ORGANIZE GAMES OF CHANCE.

1. For organizers operating lottery games: 2.000.000 lei
2. For organizers operating pari-mutuel betting: 1.000.000 lei
3. For organisers operating fixed odds betting: 1.000.000 lei
4. For organisers operating games of chance characteristic of casino activity: 1.000.000 lei
5. For organisers operating slot-machine games: 30.000 lei
6. For organisers operating bingo games in gaming halls: 100.000 lei
7. For organizers operating bingo games organized through television network systems: 1.000.000 lei
8. For organisers operating online fixed odds betting games of chance: 1.000.000 lei
9. For organisers operating bingo games of chance organised via internet, fixed or mobile telephone systems: 500.000 lei
10. For organisers operating on-line gambling: 1.000.000 lei

Organization fee for poker tournaments: 200.000 lei

Access fee for games of chance characteristic of casino activity and slot-machine games:

1. For games of chance characteristic of casino activity: 20 lei;
2. For slot-machine gambling: 5 lei.

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