ROMANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Cosmina Maria Simion, Alina Tace and Petruș Partene, WH Simion & Partners
3.2 Definition of Gambling Gambling is defined by GEO 77/2009 as an activity that has the following cumulative characteristics: • a participation fee; • the random selection of results on which the game is based; • monetary winnings; and • a public offering. 3.3 Definition of Land-Based Gambling Land-based gambling activities are defined as all games of chance – irrespective of whether or not they are expressly regulated by GEO 77/2009 – that: • fulfil the legal conditions applicable to a game of chance; • are performed through gaming means installed in Romania; and • are not transmitted or performed through any kind of communication system (internet, landline or mobile telephone, or any other transmission system). 3.4 Definition of Online Gambling Online gambling activities are defined as all games of chance – irrespective of whether or not they are expressly regulated by GEO 77/2009 – that: • fulfil the legal conditions applicable to a game of chance; and • are performed through communication systems of any kind (internet, landline or mobile telephone, or any other transmission system). 3.5 Key Offences In principle, failure to observe the legal requirements in the field of gambling may lead to civil, administrative or criminal sanctions. Administrative Liability By way of example, administrative liability may be trig- gered when: • the gambling organiser, without a distinction being made between land-based and online activi- ties, does not pay the participants the winnings obtained from their gambling within three business
days, provided that the conditions imposed on the participant in relation to the proof of winnings are fulfilled; or • the gambling organiser or the B2B provider, with- out a distinction being made between land-based and online activities, fails to notify the ONJN, within a certain deadline, about any modifications that have occurred to the data on the basis of which the licence and authorisation were granted. Failure by a gambling organiser to comply with the legal requirements can also lead to the suspension or revocation of its licence by the ONJN. Criminal Liability Operating games of chance without the required licence and authorisation constitutes a criminal offence. Criminal liability may also be triggered when the following gaming products are offered to players: • fraudulent games of chance; • games of chance transmitted through radio chan- nels or through similar means; • games of chance based on the results of clandes- tine competitions, such as dog fighting, which is expressly forbidden by Romanian legislation, or illegal car racing; • clandestine games of chance, where the results of the game are influenced by the skill of the person operating the game for the purpose of obtaining revenue, rather than being random; and • competition games with winnings of any type – offered through telephone lines or other commu- nication systems, television or radio – where the granting of prizes is based solely on the accuracy of the answers provided to general questions, which involve a participation fee. Liability for Participants With respect to the participants in games of chance, according to GEO 77/2009, any individual in Romania who participates in online gambling operated by an unlicensed or unauthorised operator will face admin- istrative fines ranging from RON5,000 to RON10,000, thus triggering the administrative (but not criminal) liability of the player.
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